Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested approximately $42.78 million for 183,422 shares in Lowe's Companies, Inc. during the first quarter.
• Lowe's reported an EPS of $4.33 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue increase of 1.6% year-over-year.
• The recent quarterly dividend announced by Lowe's is set at $0.012, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.0%.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 183,422 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $42,780,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 10.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,214,448,000 after acquiring an additional 501,154 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,192,213,000 after acquiring an additional 330,701 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 6.4% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 225,964 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,145,891.60. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded down $0.51 on Friday, reaching $271.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,896,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,795,264. The stock's 50-day moving average is $243.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.73. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.87.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The business had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. Equities 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.012 per share. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

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.