Quarry LP Invests $633,000 in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Quarry LP has acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies, purchasing 2,713 shares valued at approximately $633,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity includes a sale of 40,000 shares by CEO Marvin R. Ellison for over $10.5 million, reflecting a significant decrease in his ownership.
• Lowe's reported $4.33 EPS in its latest earnings, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of only $0.012, resulting in a low yield of 0.0%.

Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,713 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $633,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $12,736,545,000 after purchasing an additional 230,359 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 10.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,214,448,000 after acquiring an additional 501,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,192,213,000 after purchasing an additional 330,701 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,242,793,000 after purchasing an additional 323,371 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,779,120 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $881,406,000 after purchasing an additional 225,964 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Lowe's Companies stock traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $260.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,923,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,965,705. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $236.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 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.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. The business 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%.Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In related news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $10,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,772,256.30. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.