Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 38,612 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,296,937 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,612 shares during the quarter. Ferguson accounts for approximately 1.6% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $511,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after purchasing an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 22.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FERG. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.77.

Ferguson Price Performance

NYSE:FERG opened at $230.13 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $207.64 and a one year high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $44.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $240.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.08. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s payout ratio 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.