2,700 Shares in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Bought by 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after buying an additional 82,978 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $634,518,000 after acquiring an additional 52,859 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in 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 period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 90,945 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $270.85 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $271.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.29. The firm has a market cap of $154.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

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, 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 business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Melius Research assumed coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.