Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Sold by Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 48.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,109 shares during the period. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Ferguson by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,076,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.93.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $236.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.24. The stock has a market cap of $45.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 41.83%.

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

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.