Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Buys 159 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,921 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tsfg LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 128.2% in the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 178 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,256 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter worth $245,000. Lynch & Associates IN lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the third quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 25,040 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,782,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brady Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the third quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC now owns 42,584 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $11,534,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.8 %

LOW opened at $284.05 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $255.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $4.56 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett decreased their price target on shares of 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $269.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.42.

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.