Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Purchased by Knuff & Co LLC

Knuff & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 5.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 555.6% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 118 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $271.87 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.23 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $267.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.04.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 yield of 1.69%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.84.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $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 is available at this link. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.