Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $18.12 Million Stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 17.4%, holding 77,705 shares valued at approximately $18.12 million after selling 16,400 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.06% of Lowe's stock, with Vanguard Group significantly increasing its stake by 0.4% to own over 54 million shares valued at $12.74 billion.
• Lowe's reported $2.92 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates, but experienced a 2.0% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 17.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,705 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 16,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $18,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $12,736,545,000 after buying an additional 230,359 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,214,448,000 after buying an additional 501,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,192,213,000 after buying an additional 330,701 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $256.65 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $225.57 and its 200-day moving average is $230.69. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $143.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.89.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 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.

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