Busey Bank Has $23.96 Million Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Busey Bank reduced its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.9%, selling 2,137 shares, which brought its ownership to approximately 107,974 shares valued at $23.96 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Recent reports from analysts resulted in target price upgrades for Lowe's, with UBS raising its target from $300 to $325, while Royal Bank of Canada increased it from $243 to $260.
• Lowe's last reported quarterly earnings of $4.33 EPS, exceeding estimates, along with a revenue of $23.96 billion, marking a 1.6% year-over-year growth.

Busey Bank lessened its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,974 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,137 shares during the period. Busey Bank's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $23,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $264.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Seventeen investment 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,145,891.60. The trade was a 39.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

LOW traded down $1.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $265.68. The company had a trading volume of 4,079,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,516,509. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $247.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.50. The company has a market cap of $149.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.Lowe's Companies's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is 39.44%.

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.