Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Purchased by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 5.01% of Ferguson worth $1,740,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 906.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.62.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $155.22 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $144.82 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

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.