Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,250 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 10,658 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $19,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $2,713,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,601 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $175,944,000 after buying an additional 24,812 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in Lowe's Companies by 288.6% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,696,000 after buying an additional 14,132 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 362,209 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $98,104,000 after acquiring an additional 4,435 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $4.77 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $247.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,660,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,355,349. The company has a market capitalization of $139.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.80 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $252.53 and a 200 day moving average of $258.94.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $307.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.96.

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.