Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) EVP Sells $1,555,408.50 in Stock

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

LOW opened at $267.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $249.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.06. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $274.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost 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 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.54.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 174,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,214,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 36.3% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,782 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 13,860 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,170 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,546,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% in the third quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 52,594 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $14,245,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.