Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 5,832 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 424,382 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,832 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Lowe’s Companies worth $114,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter valued at $542,000. Alpha Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 774,555 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $209,788,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Slow Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 13,529 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,664,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $281.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,031,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,450,833. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.81. The company has a market capitalization of $160.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $269.00 to $306.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.42.

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.