NBT Bank N A NY Lowers Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

NBT Bank N A NY cut its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,806 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,456 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies makes up 1.5% of NBT Bank N A NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $21,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,736,545,000 after purchasing an additional 230,359 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,214,448,000 after purchasing an additional 501,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,192,213,000 after purchasing an additional 330,701 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 6.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,779,120 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $881,406,000 after purchasing an additional 225,964 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,501,740 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $816,711,000 after purchasing an additional 42,676 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LOW. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.83.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE LOW opened at $239.58 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.34. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $134.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.88.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The business had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total value of $11,942,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,145,891.60. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.