Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Buys 361 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,301 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies accounts for 1.0% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Advent Capital Management DE raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $2,717,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter worth $303,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Lowe’s Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.91.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $243.06 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $280.64. The company has a market cap of $136.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.46.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s 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. As a group, analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.