Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,562 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 29,763 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $11,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 85.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $2.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $232.78. 494,684 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,511,167. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $239.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.43%.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

Lowe's Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical.