Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Bought by M&G Plc

M&G Plc raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 947,899 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 93,018 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies comprises about 1.2% of M&G Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. M&G Plc owned 0.17% of Lowe’s Companies worth $208,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $1,638,746,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,211,131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $714,637,000 after purchasing an additional 41,451 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position 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 worth $634,518,000 after purchasing an additional 52,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LOW. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.19.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of LOW stock traded up $5.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.19. 2,771,738 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,534,283. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The stock has a market cap of $134.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.15.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 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.