First Long Island Investors LLC Trims Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• First Long Island Investors LLC reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.5%, now holding 158,041 shares valued at approximately $36.86 million, making it the 9th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Multiple analysts have increased their price targets for Lowe's Companies stock, with UBS raising it from $300 to $325, reflecting strong confidence in the company’s future performance.
• Lowe's Companies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.012 per share, marking a significant reduction in the dividend paid, which could signal a cautious approach amid market dynamics.

First Long Island Investors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,041 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,380 shares during the quarter. Lowe's Companies accounts for approximately 3.0% of First Long Island Investors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. First Long Island Investors LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $36,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $7,889,000 after buying an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 82,024 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $20,261,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 125,991 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $31,095,000 after purchasing an additional 22,171 shares during the period. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,340 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $272.56 on Friday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $287.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.012 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.0%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.44%.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,462.80. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $10,564,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,772,256.30. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,121 shares of company stock valued at $13,003,146 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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