Eastern Bank Trims Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Eastern Bank reduced its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,309 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 477 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $30,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 147.1% in the 1st quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 168 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 66,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,145,891.60. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $10,564,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. 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 research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $264.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $232.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $130.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $254.92 and its 200 day moving average is $234.38. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

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

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.