Meritage Portfolio Management Decreases Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,060 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vertex Planning Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,386 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,189,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% during the first quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 5,817 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% during the second quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 3,214 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 5.9% during the first quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 865 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $232.28 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $130.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $254.92 and a 200 day moving average of $234.40.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The business had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,802,133.74. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752. Insiders own 0.27% 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.