Swiss National Bank Has $458.09 Million Stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,691,300 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of Lowe's Companies worth $458,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 4,095 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 110.7% in the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 7.9% during the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 3.7% during the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,788 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,818,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LOW. UBS Group boosted their target price on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on Lowe's Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:LOW traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.40. 2,264,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,318,364. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.23 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $267.19 and a 200 day moving average of $243.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.14%.

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.