Westpac Banking Corp Grows Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,979 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $8,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Summitry LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.8% in the second quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 349,435 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $77,529,000 after acquiring an additional 12,912 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 44,744 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,927,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 115.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 79,500 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $17,639,000 after acquiring an additional 42,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 23,912 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $283.00 to $267.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $283.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $267.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.91.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total value of $11,942,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,145,891.60. This trade represents a 39.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% 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. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.7%

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

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

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.44%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.