Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 6,445 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 9.6%, owning 73,569 shares worth approximately $17.16 million after acquiring 6,445 additional shares.
• Lowe's recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, marking a rise from the previous $1.15, and the annualized dividend yield is now 2.0%.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Lowe's stock, with a consensus price target of $270.68, reflecting a general positive outlook despite some reductions in target prices.

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,569 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,445 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $17,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2,962.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 98,000 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $24,186,000 after buying an additional 94,800 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 17,386 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,291,000 after buying an additional 4,280 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,895 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $2.81 on Friday, reaching $241.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,746,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,652,532. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.38 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $224.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.77%.

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.