State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $44.27 Million Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 8.9%, selling 18,535 shares and leaving it with 189,797 shares valued at approximately $44.3 million.
• Lowe's recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.20 per share, up from $1.15, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%.
• The company's stock has a current market cap of $141.89 billion, and recent earnings reports indicate a 2.0% decrease in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,797 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 18,535 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $44,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of 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 period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $26,236,000 after acquiring an additional 13,092 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position 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 valued at $3,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Finally, Advent Capital Management DE grew its position 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 valued at $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $5.3180 on Tuesday, reaching $256.2080. 4,643,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,703,579. The firm's 50 day moving average is $227.16 and its 200-day moving average is $229.98. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $143.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.150-12.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe's Companies

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.68.

About Lowe's Companies

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.