Cornerstone Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 115.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,500 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,600 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $17,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,736,545,000 after buying an additional 230,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,351,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,732,049,000 after buying an additional 42,190 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,214,448,000 after acquiring an additional 501,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,192,213,000 after acquiring an additional 330,701 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,779,120 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $881,406,000 after acquiring an additional 225,964 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $279.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.91.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 66,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,145,891.60. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.7%

LOW stock opened at $227.59 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $280.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The company had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s 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. On average, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

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.