Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2 Million Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,458 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 698 shares during the quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 107.9% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 447 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 17,428 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,879,000 after buying an additional 5,172 shares in the last quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $466,000. Vista Investment Management raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 11,586 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,579,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 34,827 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,751,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.54.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $273.27 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $250.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.01. The firm has a market cap of $155.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, 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 $274.26.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 36.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

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 value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s 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 $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% 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.