Optiver Holding B.V. Has $4.19 Million Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1,332.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,948 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,695 shares during the quarter. Optiver Holding B.V.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at $498,005,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $244,561,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 588.1% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,087,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,236,000 after buying an additional 929,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 502.8% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 765,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,967,000 after buying an additional 638,692 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $234.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $230.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.52. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.21.

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.