Amundi Decreases Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 31%, selling 806,270 shares and retaining 1,797,035 shares, valued at approximately $399.9 million.
• Several institutional investors have adjusted their holdings in Lowe's, with 74.06% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Lowe's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS and recently reported a quarterly revenue of $23.96 billion, showing 1.6% growth from the previous year.

Amundi reduced its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,797,035 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 806,270 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.32% of Lowe's Companies worth $399,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW traded up $2.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $272.95. The stock had a trading volume of 4,414,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,720,737. The firm has a market cap of $153.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.87. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $238.85 and a 200 day moving average of $230.63.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.012 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.0%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $10,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.