Liberty Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,557 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after buying an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $217,995,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 735,633 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $162,178,000 after acquiring an additional 463,645 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $272.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.26. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

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.