Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys New Shares in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has purchased 156,167 shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc., totaling approximately $36.4 million in new investments during the first quarter.
• Insider selling has been reported, with CEO Marvin R. Ellison offloading 40,000 shares for $10.56 million, reflecting a 13.84% decrease in his stake.
• Lowe's recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.012 per share, which amounts to an annualized yield of 0.0%, and has a current consensus target price of $284.13 among analysts.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 156,167 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $36,423,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 worth $7,889,000 after buying an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 worth $266,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 2,056 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,815,301 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $448,016,000 after buying an additional 455,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,399,457 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $349,991,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sixteen 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.13.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of LOW stock traded down $3.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $269.42. 3,120,371 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,723,333. The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.87. 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 capitalization of $151.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 2.50 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 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. The firm's 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders 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 is currently 39.44%.

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.