Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $42.42 Million Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its Lowe’s stake by 6.1% in the second quarter, selling 12,553 shares and retaining 192,408 shares valued at approximately $42.42 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.06% of Lowe’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 23 Buy, 11 Hold, and two Sell ratings and an average price target of $257.63, despite several recent target reductions.
• Lowe’s reported quarterly EPS of $4.40, beating estimates of $4.22, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $25.96 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% annualized yield.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 192,408 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 12,553 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $42,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stableford Capital II LLC raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $358,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 155,407 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $34,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 40,344 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $8,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 3.2% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 20,973 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $231.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Wolfe Research set a $254.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $260.00 to $257.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lowe's Companies from $279.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.63.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Pryor sold 9,330 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.81, for a total value of $2,097,477.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,628,883.02. This represents a 36.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Janice Dupré sold 14,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.90, for a total transaction of $3,139,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,828,291.50. The trade was a 26.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,980 shares of company stock valued at $5,796,937. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $198.59 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $212.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.85. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.14 and a fifty-two week high of $293.06.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.18. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 75.67% and a net margin of 7.34%.The company had revenue of $25.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 21st. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 42.27%.

Lowe's Companies Company Profile

Lowe's Companies, Inc is a home improvement retailer that serves homeowners, renters, and professional contractors primarily through stores and digital platforms in the United States. The company sells a broad selection of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, and construction projects.

Its merchandise includes appliances, tools, hardware, lumber, building materials, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, lighting, kitchen and bathroom products, outdoor living items, lawn and garden products, and seasonal goods.

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