Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 24,812 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 649,601 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,812 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $175,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $2,713,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 215,651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $58,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $16,143,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,976,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.85.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Quonta D. Vance sold 7,198 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.37, for a total value of $1,974,915.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,582,802.11. The trade was a 30.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $244.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $269.10 and a 200 day moving average of $250.24. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $209.55 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.09.

Lowe’s Companies 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.