Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Sold by Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 3.2%, selling 6,184 shares and leaving it with a total of 184,164 shares valued at approximately $42.95 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a generally positive outlook for Lowe's, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $283.92, while several firms have recently increased their price targets for the stock.
• Lowe's recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.20 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend and an annual yield of 1.9%.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ decreased its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,164 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 6,184 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $42,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $12,736,545,000 after purchasing an additional 230,359 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Lowe's Companies by 10.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,192,213,000 after buying an additional 330,701 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in 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 worth $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Lowe's Companies by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,779,120 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $881,406,000 after buying an additional 225,964 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 249,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,059 shares of company stock worth $11,060,014. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of LOW stock 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 3,220,431. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $144.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $234.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.34.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a $0.012 dividend. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.