QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 10.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 145,725 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $39,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $55,266,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,470 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 215,651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $58,409,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 11,128 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.60.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $263.08 on Monday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $189.05 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $149.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.00.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.14%.

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.