William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Takes $2.25 Million Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,217 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,000. Lowe’s Companies comprises 1.5% of William B. Walkup & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.8% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,952 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 9.0% during the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 7,185 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 7.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 59,954 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,218,000 after acquiring an additional 4,343 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 4.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 74,419 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $16,406,000 after acquiring an additional 3,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter worth $394,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.13.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW opened at $267.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $152.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $246.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $268.71.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.56 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.