Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp lowered its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $14,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.7% during the second quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,888 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,859,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $29,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Advent Capital Management DE raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,361 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the business’s 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 owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,802,133.74. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LOW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Barclays set a $267.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.13.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.9%

LOW stock opened at $237.62 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $133.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $254.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.36.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

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.