Martingale Asset Management L P Grows Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 54.7%, acquiring an additional 9,511 shares to hold a total of 26,897 shares valued at approximately $6.27 million.
• Lowe's Companies recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.33 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 1.6% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, reflecting a positive outlook with an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 54.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,897 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 9,511 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $6,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $245.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

LOW stock traded up $7.9280 during trading on Friday, reaching $263.5780. 3,795,959 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,263,003. The business's 50 day moving average price is $230.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.89. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.44%.

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.