Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its ownership in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 49%, now holding approximately 1.88 million shares valued at $438.75 million.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Lowe's stock, with a consensus target of $271.68 and a rating of "Moderate Buy" from several research firms.
• Lowe's recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, raising its annualized dividend to $4.80, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,881,196 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 618,775 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.34% of Lowe's Companies worth $438,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LOW. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lowe's Companies Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE LOW opened at $250.86 on Tuesday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $140.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $227.16 and a 200-day moving average of $229.98.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. 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. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

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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