Savant Capital LLC Acquires 2,733 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,535 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,733 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,002,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,609,000 after buying an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at $1,252,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 9.3% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 147,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 21.0% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 322,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,522,000 after acquiring an additional 55,981 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:FERG opened at $262.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.18. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $263.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $239.73 and a 200 day moving average of $236.27.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.07. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The business had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Ferguson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Key Stories Impacting Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Celebrity interviews and human-interest items about Rebecca Ferguson — entertainment coverage with no connection to Ferguson plc; negligible impact on the stock. Rebecca Ferguson opens up
• Neutral Sentiment: Reporting on Rebecca Ferguson describing an on-set incident — celebrity press, no corporate relevance to FERG. Rebecca Ferguson on on-set incident
• Neutral Sentiment: Local reporting that the city of Ferguson is seeing a downward trend in crime — municipal news, not related to the UK/US industrial distributor Ferguson plc. Ferguson facing downward trend in crime
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple tabloid/coverage items concerning Sarah Ferguson and recent Epstein-file revelations — these stories could generate short-term name-recognition noise or media confusion for investors seeing the “Ferguson” name, but they do not relate to Ferguson plc’s operations, earnings or financial outlook. Expect negligible fundamental impact unless headlines cause measurable brand confusion in investor communications. PR expert says this move would be “career suicide” Sarah Ferguson has a ‘housing crisis’ Sarah Ferguson Done Protecting Ex-Prince Andrew Key revelations about Sarah Ferguson in Epstein files

About Ferguson

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.