Linscomb Wealth Inc. Acquires 2,299 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 16.0%, owning a total of 16,652 shares valued at approximately $3.88 million after acquiring an additional 2,299 shares.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in Lowe's, with Pacer Advisors Inc. boosting its share by 2,984.6% to own over 2 million shares worth $475.3 million.
• Lowe's announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, marking an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% with a payout ratio of 39.77%.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,652 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $3,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter worth $681,215,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $475,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 350.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $241.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $135.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $224.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.57.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The business's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 dividend yield of 2.0%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.68.

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.

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