Avalon Trust Co Sells 5,800 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Avalon Trust Co lowered its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,521 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies comprises approximately 2.0% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $27,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 2,921 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 7.4% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,038 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the second quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 4,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the second quarter worth about $16,173,000. Finally, Cherokee Insurance Co bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,330,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Truist Financial reduced 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $279.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,145,891.60. The trade was a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $234.75 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $280.64. The company has a market cap of $131.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.29.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were issued 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 yield of 2.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

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.