Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 23,286 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 78.9%, now holding 52,793 shares valued at $12.31 million as of the recent quarter.
• Lowe's announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.20 per share, with a projected annualized dividend payout of $4.80 and a yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts maintained a positive outlook for Lowe's, with an average target price of $270.68 and seventeen analysts rating the stock as a "buy."

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 78.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,793 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 23,286 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $12,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $475,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 350.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1,048.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $172,527,000 after buying an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $2.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $226.33. 3,400,746 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,592,199. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.38. The company has a market cap of $126.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.89. 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, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.68.

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.