Verity & Verity LLC Acquires 857 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $7,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $634,518,000 after purchasing an additional 52,859 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after buying an additional 90,945 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $272.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.48. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $274.16.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for 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%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered their price target 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.00.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.