Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,505 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 3,253 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,032 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $430,090,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 143.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 1,361,716 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $283,019,000 after purchasing an additional 803,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $144,530,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on LOW. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of LOW stock opened at $232.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.15. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $240.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.75.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.