BTC Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 33,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $7,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $29,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Advent Capital Management DE grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,361 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 55,502 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,772,256.30. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,462.80. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $265.68 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $247.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.57. The company has a market cap of $149.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The company had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a $0.012 dividend. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LOW. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.08.

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.