Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 4,135 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, owning $193.33 million worth of stock after selling 4,135 shares in Q1 2023.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $270.68 for Lowe's Companies, with the stock currently rated as a "Moderate Buy."
• Lowe's recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20, representing a 1.9% dividend yield.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 828,911 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 4,135 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.15% of Lowe's Companies worth $193,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE LOW traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $251.86. 3,025,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,874,602. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $226.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.28. The stock has a market cap of $141.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm 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 company's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.