Ferguson plc $FERG is Baupost Group LLC MA’s 10th Largest Position

Baupost Group LLC MA lessened its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,137,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,465 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up about 4.8% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $253,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after buying an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,786,000 after acquiring an additional 682,666 shares during the period. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,776,000 after acquiring an additional 100,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.77.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $230.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $240.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.08. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced 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 for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. 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 firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Company 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.