Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,601,364 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 125,045 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.33% of Lowe’s Companies worth $1,675,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LOW. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.83.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $255.41 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.75. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.95%.

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.