Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,681,398 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 237,349 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.30% of Lowe's Companies worth $392,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 60.0% in 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 during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LOW. KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Lowe's Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

LOW traded up $2.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $223.66. 3,227,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,682. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.39 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $223.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.11%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other 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 transaction of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.