AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,088 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 31,234 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $31,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe's Companies

In other Lowe's Companies news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,121 shares of company stock valued at $13,003,146. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on LOW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays set a $267.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of LOW stock traded down $3.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $269.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,120,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,068,601. The company has a market cap of $151.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $240.70 and a 200-day moving average of $231.14. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01.

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

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.012 per share. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.44%.

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.