Financial Advocates Investment Management Buys New Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,137,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FERG. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates lowered Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.73.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $180.91 on Tuesday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $167.27 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.83. The company has a market cap of $36.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.24.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.86%.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.