Retirement Planning Group LLC Cuts Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Retirement Planning Group LLC lessened its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,133 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $681,215,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2,984.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $475,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971,996 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,881,196 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,751,000 after purchasing an additional 618,775 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,214,448,000 after purchasing an additional 501,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,192,213,000 after purchasing an additional 330,701 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $243.54 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $280.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $255.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.04.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at $18,145,891.60. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. KeyCorp raised 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.91.

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.