Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 25.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,507 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14,514 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $15,985,000 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. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,509 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LOW shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $264.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.83.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:LOW traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,889,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,513,320. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.09. The company has a market cap of $138.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

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.