Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 7,282 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,282 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $7,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $12,736,545,000 after buying an additional 230,359 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,214,448,000 after buying an additional 501,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,192,213,000 after buying an additional 330,701 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,779,120 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $881,406,000 after buying an additional 225,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,501,740 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $816,711,000 after buying an additional 42,676 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,145,891.60. The trade was a 39.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.50.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $246.24 on Monday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $138.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.20.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The business had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 39.44%.

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.