National Pension Service Boosts Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,253,096 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 52,147 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of Lowe’s Companies worth $278,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 230,359 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,214,448,000 after purchasing an additional 501,154 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,192,213,000 after purchasing an additional 330,701 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.4% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,501,740 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $816,711,000 after buying an additional 42,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at $5,802,133.74. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $283.00 to $267.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.50.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $235.53 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $280.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 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.