Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY Reduces Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lowered its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,989 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,059 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.8% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,734 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth $1,629,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 256,098 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $51,780,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 74.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 295 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 4,500 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,368,562.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,368,562.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Janice Dupre sold 5,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.28, for a total value of $1,244,286.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,216 shares in the company, valued at $5,600,676.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $235.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.32.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $203.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $117.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.07. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $237.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.29.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 22nd. The home improvement retailer reported $4.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $24.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.97 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 58.56% and a net margin of 6.48%. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 13.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.