Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Makes New Investment in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,919 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 20.4% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 2,309 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 4.9% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,423 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.3% in the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 297,982 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $69,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,966 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 45.9% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,833 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $210.72 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $223.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.87. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.92.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 EPS. Lowe's Companies's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio 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.

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