Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases 167 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,056 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 26,796.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,048.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $172,527,000 after buying an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.7%

LOW opened at $222.59 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $124.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $224.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.85.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

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.