Focused Investors LLC Has $104.07 Million Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Focused Investors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 446,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 9,800 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies comprises about 3.3% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Focused Investors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Lowe’s Companies worth $104,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,056 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,579,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 44,245 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $10,354,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $802,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,542 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 48,323 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $11,270,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of LOW opened at $224.12 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $125.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.03. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% 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.