LJI Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

LJI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,020 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $578,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,668 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after purchasing an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after purchasing an additional 90,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake 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 purchasing 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 analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This represents 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of LOW traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $269.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,264,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,439,940. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.51. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.23 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

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

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.