WCM Investment Management LLC Sells 57,678 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

WCM Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,348,417 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,678 shares during the quarter. Ferguson accounts for 2.2% of WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $972,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Ferguson by 150.8% in 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 buying an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Ferguson by 7.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 434,650 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 79,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.21.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $231.39 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.39. 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 plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.