2,783 Shares in Ferguson plc $FERG Purchased by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $948,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Ferguson by 2,762.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 6,381 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 170,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,817,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FERG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.61.

Ferguson Trading Up 2.8%

FERG opened at $233.93 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $231.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.29. 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 plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.40%.

Ferguson Profile

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.