Covea Finance Decreases Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Covea Finance reduced its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,002 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 19,080 shares during the period. Lowe's Companies comprises 2.3% of Covea Finance's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Covea Finance's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $50,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 10.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,045,006,000 after buying an additional 2,399,897 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,774,948,000 after acquiring an additional 460,851 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,733,461 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,169,041,000 after acquiring an additional 187,473 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,369,052 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $912,508,000 after purchasing an additional 39,953 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $310.00 to $307.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.85.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $5.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $256.73. 2,878,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,392,622. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.54 and a 200-day moving average of $253.93. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $209.55 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.11.

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Quonta D. Vance sold 7,198 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.37, for a total value of $1,974,915.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,582,802.11. This trade represents a 30.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.