Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Stock Position Raised by Piscataqua Savings Bank

Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 28.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 593 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,483,558,000 after purchasing an additional 259,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,952,341,000 after buying an additional 245,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,242,793,000 after acquiring an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LOW. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $280.00 price target on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.0%

LOW opened at $225.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $126.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.72. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

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.