Claro Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 2,246.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,521 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 38,794 shares during the period. Lowe's Companies makes up 1.0% of Claro Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Claro Advisors LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $10,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in 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 buying an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 valued at $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $356,671,000 after buying an additional 90,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Lowe's Companies by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,499,015 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $330,473,000 after buying an additional 149,649 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LOW shares. 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.42.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of LOW traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $281.57. 2,031,139 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,450,833. The stock has a market cap of $160.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $256.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.58. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.