Principal Securities Inc. Buys 1,792 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 20.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,706 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,792 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings 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 worth $1,147,603,000 after buying an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after buying an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $356,671,000 after acquiring an additional 90,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Loop Capital raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.60.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $261.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $189.05 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.91.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

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.