Woodstock Corp Acquires 1,968 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,690 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after buying an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after acquiring an additional 90,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,499,015 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $330,473,000 after acquiring an additional 149,649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $275.76 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.58. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $278.10. The stock has a market cap of $157.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s 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 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LOW. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Gordon Haskett dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.88.

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.