Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Lowe’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The ticker symbol for Lowe’s is “LOW”. As of March 31, 2017, there were 23,575 holders of record of Lowe’s common stock. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices per share of the common stock as reported by the NYSE Composite Tape and the dividends per share declared on the common stock during such periods.



	Fiscal 2016						Fiscal 2015
	High		Low		Dividend		High		Low		Dividend
1st Quarter	$	77.63	$	62.62	$	0.28	$	76.25	$	66.17	$	0.23
2nd Quarter	83.65		74.56		0.35		73.93		65.83		0.28
3rd Quarter	82.68		66.71		0.35		74.78		64.22		0.28
4th Quarter	76.47		64.87		0.35		78.13		66.93		0.28

Total Return to Shareholders

The following information in Item 5 of this Annual Report is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such a filing.

The following table and graph compare the total returns (assuming reinvestment of dividends) of the Company’s common stock, the S&P 500 Index (S&P 500) and the S&P Retailing Industry Group Index (S&P Retail Index). The graph assumes $100 invested on February 3, 2012 in the Company’s common stock and each of the indices.



	2/3/2012		2/1/2013		1/31/2014		1/30/2015		1/29/2016		2/3/2017
Lowe’s	$	100.00	$	144.61	$	176.36	$	262.41	$	281.77	$	293.31
S&P 500	100.00		115.06		138.42		158.11		157.06		190.14
S&P Retail Index	$	100.00	$	125.89	$	157.75	$	189.45	$	221.27	$	260.15

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table sets forth information with respect to purchases of the Company’s common stock made during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016:



(In millions, except average price paid per share)	Total Number of Shares Purchased 1	Average Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs 2	Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs 2
October 29, 2016 – November 25, 2016 3	3.4	$	70.95	3.4	$	367
November 26, 2016 – December 30, 2016	2.1	72.97		2.1	215
December 31, 2016 – February 3, 2017 3	2.2	72.09		2.2	5,076
As of February 3, 2017	7.7	$	71.83	7.7	$	5,076


1	During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, the Company repurchased an aggregate of 7.7 million shares of its common stock. The total number of shares purchased also includes an insignificant number of shares withheld from employees to satisfy either the exercise price of stock options or the statutory withholding tax liability upon the vesting of restricted stock awards.


2	On March 20, 2015, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a $5.0 billion repurchase program with no expiration. On January 27, 2017, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized an additional $5.0 billion of share repurchases with no expiration. As of February 3, 2017, the Company had $5.1 billion share repurchases remaining available under the program. In fiscal 2017, the Company expects to repurchase shares totaling $3.5 billion through purchases made from time to time either in the open market or through private off market transactions in accordance with SEC regulations.

On March 20, 2015, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a $5.0 billion repurchase program with no expiration. On January 27, 2017, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized an additional $5.0 billion of share repurchases with no expiration. As of February 3, 2017, the Company had $5.1 billion share repurchases remaining available under the program. In fiscal 2017, the Company expects to repurchase shares totaling $3.5 billion through purchases made from time to time either in the open market or through private off market transactions in accordance with SEC regulations.


3	In November 2016, the Company entered into an Accelerated Share Repurchase (ASR) agreement with a third-party financial institution to repurchase $190 million of the Company’s common stock. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company paid $190 million to the financial institution and received an initial delivery of 2.4 million shares. In January 2017, the Company finalized the transaction and received an additional 0.2 million shares. The average price paid per share in settlement of the ASR agreement included in the table above was determined with reference to the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over the term of the ASR agreement. See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.

In November 2016, the Company entered into an Accelerated Share Repurchase (ASR) agreement with a third-party financial institution to repurchase $190 million of the Company’s common stock. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company paid $190 million to the financial institution and received an initial delivery of 2.4 million shares. In January 2017, the Company finalized the transaction and received an additional 0.2 million shares. The average price paid per share in settlement of the ASR agreement included in the table above was determined with reference to the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over the term of the ASR agreement. See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.

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