Ethic Inc. Acquires 8,066 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 16.1% in Q1, bringing its total holdings to 58,257 shares worth approximately $13.63 million.
• Despite a slight decrease in quarterly revenue, Lowe's reported $2.92 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.88.
• Lowe's recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20, marking an increase from its previous dividend and reflecting a 1.9% yield.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,257 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,066 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $13,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $12,736,545,000 after buying an additional 230,359 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,214,448,000 after acquiring an additional 501,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,192,213,000 after buying an additional 330,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $251.86. 3,025,751 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,905,980. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $226.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.05. The company has a market cap of $141.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. Lowe's Companies's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, 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 was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was 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. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe's Companies 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.