EP Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,679 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,098 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $16,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 13,680 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares during the last quarter. 17 Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth $1,368,000. Finally, Gerber LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth $235,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.13.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $267.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $268.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $246.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.95%.

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.