Covea Finance Has $27.86 Million Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Covea Finance lessened its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 41.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,457 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 84,545 shares during the quarter. Lowe's Companies comprises about 1.3% of Covea Finance's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Covea Finance's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $27,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 119.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,889,000 after acquiring an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,600 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LOW shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $212.40 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $223.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.02. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.39 and a one year high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $119.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.06 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.77%.

About Lowe's Companies

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.

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