Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,213 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $3,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,498,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $116,696,000 after purchasing an additional 7,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price target on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW opened at $223.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $125.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.39 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.12.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 39.77%.

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.