Ieq Capital LLC Sells 1,539 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 4.4%, selling 1,539 shares, and now owns 33,455 shares valued at approximately $7.8 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Marvin R. Ellison selling 40,000 shares for about $10.56 million, reflecting a 13.84% decrease in ownership.
• Lowe’s recently announced a dividend increase from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, yielding 1.9% annually with a payout ratio of 39.44%.

Ieq Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,455 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,539 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $7,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LOW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 119.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 107,854 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $26,618,000 after purchasing an additional 15,544 shares in the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,605,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,534 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other Lowe's Companies news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,772,256.30. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,059 shares of company stock valued at $11,060,014. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $258.54. 2,177,553 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,159,270. The company's 50-day moving average price is $234.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett upgraded Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Lowe's Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.13.

About Lowe's Companies

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.