California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,144,585 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 44,785 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of Lowe’s Companies worth $253,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Solstein Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 627.8% in the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 128.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 135 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 101.0% during the second quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at $18,145,891.60. The trade was a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Argus lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Gordon Haskett raised Lowe’s Companies to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $248.50 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $239.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.48. The stock has a market cap of $139.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.96. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $280.64.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $20.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.88 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 55.86% and a net margin of 8.05%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 21st. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.80%.

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.