Cullen Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 631,354 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 631,354 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $139,207,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LOW. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.8% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 40,545,728 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,939,928,000 after acquiring an additional 714,092 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,036,276 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,291,867,000 after purchasing an additional 124,501 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,326,581 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,201,329,000 after purchasing an additional 887,579 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,993,697,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,830,080 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,716,467,000 after purchasing an additional 103,827 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LOW. HSBC dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. William Blair started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $220.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $293.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.53.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.83, for a total transaction of $559,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,525,842.60. This represents a 11.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 9,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.81, for a total value of $2,097,477.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,628,883.02. This trade represents a 36.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,980 shares of company stock valued at $5,796,937. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $217.02 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $215.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.33. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.40 and a 52 week high of $293.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.86.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.18. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 7.34% and a negative return on equity of 75.67%. The company had revenue of $25.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 42.27%.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

Lowe’s Companies, Inc is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and digital channels serving both do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors. The company offers a broad assortment of products including building materials, lumber, appliances, tools and hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, kitchen and bath fixtures, outdoor and garden products, and home decor. Lowe’s also provides a range of services such as installation, home improvement financing, tool and equipment rental, and contractor-focused sales programs.

Operations are centered on a nationwide brick-and-mortar store network supported by distribution centers and an e-commerce platform that enables online ordering, delivery and in-store pickup.