Eastern Bank Takes $37.39 Million Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 138,039 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $37,388,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after buying an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after buying an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at $217,995,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in 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 period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 170.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 735,633 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $162,178,000 after buying an additional 463,645 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock traded down $4.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $272.42. 1,513,788 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,445,968. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $258.29 and a 200-day moving average of $239.03.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 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 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%. Lowe’s Companies’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 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.60.

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.