MBB Public Markets I LLC Acquires Shares of 1,391 Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 1,391 shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. valued at approximately $324,000 in the first quarter, showcasing increasing institutional investment in the company.
• CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of Lowe's stock for around $10.56 million, reflecting a 13.84% decrease in his holdings, despite the company having a strong earnings report.
• Multiple research firms have raised their price targets on Lowe's, with UBS Group setting a new target of $325.00, signifying strong analyst confidence in the stock's performance.

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter worth $681,215,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $475,339,000 after buying an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $386,540,000 after buying an additional 1,651,170 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 1,048.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $172,527,000 after buying an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter worth $159,029,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In related news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total value of $11,942,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,145,891.60. This trade represents a 39.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $271.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,896,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,801,290. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $152.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $243.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.83.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. Lowe's Companies's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. 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 Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lowe's Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Lowe's Companies from $264.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.13.

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.