MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $40.15 Million Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 148,223 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 4,409 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $40,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 24.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,608 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,028,000 after buying an additional 5,384 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $713,000. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 5,138 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 5,525 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Loop Capital upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $275.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $156.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.32 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $269.47 and its 200 day moving average is $245.47.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.37%.

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.