Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Bought by Baugh & Associates LLC

Baugh & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,083 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the quarter. Lowe's Companies makes up about 4.3% of Baugh & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Baugh & Associates LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $8,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 350.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $585,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846,315 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $314,435,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LOW. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Lowe's Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $221.47. 2,250,147 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,528,563. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $223.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.94. The stock has a market cap of $124.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.92.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. Lowe's Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies 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.