Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,948 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after buying an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth $217,995,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $126,615,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $268.54 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $274.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.95.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 36.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.