M&T Bank Corp Decreases Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,243 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,033 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $6,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 10.0% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Ferguson by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 193,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,819,000 after acquiring an additional 20,268 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 144.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 150.0% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 15.6% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of FERG opened at $218.65 on Tuesday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $139.32 and a twelve month high of $224.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $213.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.40.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James cut shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.50.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.