Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 478,854 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 23,104 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies comprises approximately 0.7% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.08% of Lowe’s Companies worth $105,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after buying an additional 13,680 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares in the last quarter. 17 Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter worth $1,368,000. Finally, Gerber LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth $235,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $260.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $243.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.32. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.56 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 1.77%. Lowe’s Companies’s 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.