State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,567 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 188,230 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $41,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 3.7% in the second quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $3,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Advent Capital Management DE lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 20.0% in the first quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,717,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $264.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $243.06 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $280.64. The stock has a market cap of $136.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $254.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.46.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a $1.20 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.