M&T Bank Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 310,484 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 21,661 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Lowe's Companies worth $72,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

LOW stock traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $225.38. The stock had a trading volume of 2,339,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,499,444. The firm has a market cap of $126.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $224.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.62. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.11%.

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.