Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 4,622 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,982 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 4,622 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.06% of Lowe’s Companies worth $68,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 9.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 60,582 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.3% during the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 13,950 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 5.5% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 20,867 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 101.0% during the second quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.9% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,472 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LOW shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $264.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $267.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.59.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock opened at $238.30 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $280.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $253.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.15. The company has a market capitalization of $133.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.88.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 previous year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors 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 yield of 2.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.