Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,891 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 83,653 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $53,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after acquiring an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after purchasing an additional 90,945 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $270.35 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.23 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.56 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Gordon Haskett dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.