Meritage Portfolio Management Has $5.08 Million Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,737 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 404 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 36.9% in the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 6.8% during the first quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 107.0% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,933 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 19.2% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 4,715 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Loop Capital raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.8 %

LOW stock traded up $4.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $271.10. 2,102,467 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,186,897. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $189.05 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.11.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.56 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 38.14%.

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.