Markel Group Inc. Has $39.82 Million Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 170,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,200 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $39,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,621,000 after purchasing an additional 434,650 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after purchasing an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during 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 during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.61.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE FERG traded up $3.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $227.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,257,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,090. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $232.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication 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.