New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 25,075 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,346 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 25,075 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $143,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $578,256,000 after buying an additional 2,027,668 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after purchasing an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after buying an additional 90,945 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Melius Research began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

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

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $2.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $265.06. 175,958 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,434,093. The business has a fifty day moving average of $261.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.30. The company has a market capitalization of $151.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.77 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 36.95%.

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.