Bell Asset Management Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bell Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,276 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,786 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $7,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 239.4% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 14,573 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 10,279 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 48.2% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 29,137 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,827,000 after buying an additional 9,482 shares in the last quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 49,058 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,810,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.1% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 24,846 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,968,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.5% in the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 71.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $260.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $221.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.89.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

LOW traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $230.48. 3,430,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,817,791. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.50 and a 12-month high of $237.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $225.90 and a 200-day moving average of $211.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.09.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 22nd. The home improvement retailer reported $4.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.07. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 58.56% and a net margin of 6.48%. The business had revenue of $24.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 13.45 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 25th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.53, for a total transaction of $1,001,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,368,562.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.