Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW Stock Position Raised by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,093 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies comprises about 4.2% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $21,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $12,736,545,000 after buying an additional 230,359 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,214,448,000 after buying an additional 501,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,192,213,000 after buying an additional 330,701 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,779,120 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $881,406,000 after buying an additional 225,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,501,740 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $816,711,000 after purchasing an additional 42,676 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $232.28 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $254.92 and a 200-day moving average of $234.38. The company has a market cap of $130.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.88.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. The company’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. As a group, equities 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 paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.