1,181 Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Purchased by Keel Point LLC

Keel Point LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at about $370,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 11.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,669,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,046,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,327,000 after buying an additional 191,587 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 100.4% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 161,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,630,000 after buying an additional 38,584 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.2 %

FERG opened at $215.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $130.09 and a one year high of $224.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $209.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Raymond James cut shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.50.

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.