Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Buys 413 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,272 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 147.1% during the 1st quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 168 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,145,891.60. This trade represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on LOW shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.13.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:LOW opened at $232.28 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $254.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.42. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $130.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.88.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.44%.

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.