Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 37,162 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 23.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 193,672 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 37,162 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $52,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 18.6% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,769,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 14.5% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 931 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 6.5% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $16,591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $265.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.23 and a one year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 38.37%.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Gordon Haskett decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $301.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.92.

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.