D Orazio & Associates Inc. Has $1.21 Million Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,475 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after buying an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,668 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,100 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the first quarter worth $217,995,000. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $219,761,000 after purchasing an additional 645,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:LOW traded up $3.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $273.22. 505,466 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,434,807. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.23 and a one year high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $242.85.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.92 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Gordon Haskett reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $275.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.84.

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.