Van Strum & Towne Inc. Raises Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 78.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,540 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LOW. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $29,223,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.0% in 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 during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,860,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $221.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 82,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,486,140. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.02. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.39 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.77%.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.