Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Position Raised by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies, acquiring an additional 8,438 shares during the first quarter, raising their total shares to 430,716, valued at approximately $100.5 million.
• Lowe's reported a 2.0% year-over-year revenue decline for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $2.92, slightly above consensus estimates.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20, reflecting a 2.1% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 39.77%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 430,716 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,438 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.08% of Lowe's Companies worth $100,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 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 analysts have commented on LOW shares. KeyCorp upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 target price on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.68.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:LOW traded up $1.06 on Tuesday, hitting $234.87. The stock had a trading volume of 276,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,642,232. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $131.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $223.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.19.

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

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

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.