Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Acquired by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 138,695 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,027 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $30,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,911,775 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,527,176,000 after purchasing an additional 207,826 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 4.7% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 86,642 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $19,223,000 after buying an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,052,000. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,196,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $263.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $242.73 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $238.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.79. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $274.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In related 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.