Marshall Wace LLP Boosts Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 735,633 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 463,645 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.13% of Lowe’s Companies worth $162,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 106.0% during the second quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 478,854 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $105,568,000 after purchasing an additional 23,104 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the second quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 107.9% during the second quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 3,013 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LOW. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $262.29 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49. The stock has a market cap of $149.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $244.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.47.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. 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 currently 36.95%.

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.