Montag & Caldwell LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Montag & Caldwell LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 22.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,884 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 9,171 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies comprises 2.2% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $10,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $634,518,000 after acquiring an additional 52,859 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the 1st 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after acquiring an additional 90,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,516,347 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $337,463,000 after acquiring an additional 194,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LOW. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.83.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $255.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $240.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.75. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $262.49. The firm has a market cap of $144.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio 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.