Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Portside Wealth Group LLC

Portside Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,904 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 62,964 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $16,039,000 after buying an additional 10,802 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 110.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 74,600 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $19,003,000 after purchasing an additional 39,212 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 99.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 5,748 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.5% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 57,993 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $14,773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,431 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 86,539 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $22,044,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.24.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW opened at $266.30 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $189.05 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.77 and a 200-day moving average of $241.67. The company has a market capitalization of $151.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 38.14%.

Insider Activity

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

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.