Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 4,475 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,464 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 4,475 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $6,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 330,701 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,242,793,000 after acquiring an additional 323,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,501,740 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $816,711,000 after purchasing an additional 42,676 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 target price on Lowe's Companies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.68.

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Get Our Latest Analysis on Lowe's Companies

Insider Activity

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.1%

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Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $238.47 on Friday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.12.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. Lowe's Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

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.

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