Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,962 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $26,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after buying an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $217,995,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,615,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LOW. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.83.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW opened at $256.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.09. The stock has a market cap of $146.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

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.