Capital City Trust Co. FL Has $478,000 Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,763 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 555.6% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 118 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 118.6% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 128.2% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 178 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LOW shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.84.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of LOW opened at $269.40 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.74. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.23 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.