Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 731,089 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 33,200 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of Lowe’s Companies worth $162,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 154,692 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $34,322,000 after buying an additional 3,947 shares in the last quarter. Advent Capital Management DE lifted 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 valued at $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $2,717,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 147.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 2,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $263.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.79.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $243.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $136.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $240.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.86. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $280.64.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The company had revenue of $20.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 21st. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,802,133.74. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.