Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Bought by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management significantly increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 86.5% in the second quarter, owning 21,257 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million.
• Insider transactions showed significant sell-offs, including CEO Marvin R. Ellison selling 40,000 shares for over $10.5 million, reducing his ownership stake by 13.84%.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for Lowe's, with ratings ranging from "Hold" to "Outperform," and a current consensus price target of $282.91.

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,257 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,857 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $4,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $681,215,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $475,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971,996 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,881,196 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $438,751,000 after acquiring an additional 618,775 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,214,448,000 after acquiring an additional 501,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 330,701 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Gordon Haskett raised Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lowe's Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Lowe's Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.91.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $240.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $135.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $254.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.50. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The business had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. Analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.44%.

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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