Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Lowe's by 12% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 1.19 million shares valued at $277.45 million.
• Lowe's reported earnings of $2.92 per share, surpassing expectations, but faced a 2% decline in revenue year-over-year, reaching $20.93 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, reflecting a 39.77% payout ratio and an annualized yield of 1.9%.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,189,607 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 162,067 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Lowe's Companies worth $277,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $29,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,860,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advent Capital Management DE grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,198,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 2.1%

Lowe's Companies stock traded up $5.3180 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $256.2080. The company had a trading volume of 4,643,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,703,579. The stock has a market cap of $143.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $227.16 and a 200 day moving average of $229.98. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.150-12.400 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.68.

Lowe's Companies Company 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.