UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Has $1.12 Billion Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 4.9%, now holding approximately 4.79 million shares valued at about $1.12 billion.
• Lowe's reported a quarterly EPS of $4.33, surpassing expectations, while setting FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS.
• Institutional investors own 74.06% of Lowe's stock, with recent changes including new stakes from Wood Tarver Financial Group and Fairway Wealth LLC.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC cut its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,789,416 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 246,214 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.86% of Lowe's Companies worth $1,117,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 34.8% in the first quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 2,916 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 40.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 47,704 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $11,126,000 after acquiring an additional 13,636 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 33.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,922 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $12,809,000 after acquiring an additional 13,677 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 47.9% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,394 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $6.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $272.56. 2,253,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,870,370. The stock has a market cap of $152.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87. 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 fifty day moving average price of $242.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $231.63.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.012 dividend. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,121 shares of company stock valued at $13,003,146. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.