Lewis Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,394 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 20.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 62,964 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $16,039,000 after buying an additional 10,802 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 110.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 74,600 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $19,003,000 after purchasing an additional 39,212 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 99.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 5,748 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 12.5% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 57,993 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $14,773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 86,539 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $22,044,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LOW. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.24.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW opened at $266.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $151.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $189.05 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $263.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.67.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.