Ferguson plc $FERG Holdings Lifted by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 65.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,593 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,705 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $18,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Ferguson by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,152,000 after purchasing an additional 81,094 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,367,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,921,000 after purchasing an additional 112,157 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Ferguson by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,786,000 after purchasing an additional 682,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in Ferguson by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,776,000 after purchasing an additional 100,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.64.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.6%

FERG stock opened at $229.14 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $44.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

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.