River Road Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,987 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,697 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $24,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Ferguson by 146.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2,291.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $210.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $210.16 and its 200 day moving average is $187.27. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $130.75 and a 1-year high of $224.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $42.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 36.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.50.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.