Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Stake Boosted by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,689 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted 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 valued at $1,147,603,000 after acquiring an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,027,668 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after purchasing an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the second 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 period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,499,015 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $330,473,000 after buying an additional 149,649 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Loop Capital raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $263.03 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.23 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $149.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $268.29 and its 200-day moving average is $244.36.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 38.37%.

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.