Boston Trust Walden Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its Lowe’s stake by 4.1% in the first quarter, selling 8,969 shares and leaving it with 210,912 shares valued at about $49.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive: Lowe’s has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with 23 Buy ratings, 11 Holds, and 2 Sells, and an average target price of $264.57.
• Lowe’s reported solid recent results, with Q1 EPS of $3.03 beating expectations and revenue rising 10.3% year over year; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 210,912 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 8,969 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $49,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,230,787 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $13,560,617,000 after buying an additional 924,625 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,036,276 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,291,867,000 after buying an additional 124,501 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,326,581 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,201,329,000 after acquiring an additional 887,579 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,993,697,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,830,080 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,716,467,000 after acquiring an additional 103,827 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LOW shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $228.00 to $202.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho reduced their price target on Lowe's Companies from $294.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $292.00 to $277.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Benchmark assumed coverage on Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $293.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.83, for a total transaction of $559,575.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,525,842.60. This represents a 11.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 9,330 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.81, for a total transaction of $2,097,477.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,628,883.02. This represents a 36.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,980 shares of company stock valued at $5,796,937 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock opened at $227.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $293.06. The stock has a market cap of $127.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.86.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.06. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 67.96% and a net margin of 7.51%.The firm had revenue of $23.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.250-12.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 40.57%.

About Lowe's Companies

Lowe's Companies, Inc is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and digital channels serving both do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors. The company offers a broad assortment of products including building materials, lumber, appliances, tools and hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, kitchen and bath fixtures, outdoor and garden products, and home decor. Lowe's also provides a range of services such as installation, home improvement financing, tool and equipment rental, and contractor-focused sales programs.

Operations are centered on a nationwide brick-and-mortar store network supported by distribution centers and an e-commerce platform that enables online ordering, delivery and in-store pickup.

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