Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Sold by FORA Capital LLC

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 42.3%, selling 17,788 shares and now owning 24,245 shares valued at approximately $5.7 million.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 74.06% of Lowe's Companies, with significant positions taken by Nuveen LLC and Pacer Advisors Inc. in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Lowe's stock, with a target price of $284.33, reflecting positive growth expectations.

FORA Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,245 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 17,788 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $5,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 119.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $139,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,059 shares of company stock valued at $11,060,014. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Lowe's Companies from $264.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. KeyCorp raised their price target on Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.92.

Lowe's Companies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $257.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,779,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,270,402. The firm has a market cap of $144.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $233.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.46. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

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

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change 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 1.9%. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

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.