Xponance Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Xponance Inc. decreased its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 31.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,540 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 39,182 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $18,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $634,518,000 after buying an additional 52,859 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $356,671,000 after buying an additional 90,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,516,347 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $337,463,000 after buying an additional 194,070 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LOW shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $264.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.48.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

LOW stock opened at $260.14 on Monday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The stock has a market cap of $148.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $243.58 and its 200 day moving average is $235.32.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s 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 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.