Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,079 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,343 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $30,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 542,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,318,000 after acquiring an additional 29,396 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 807.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 12,915 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,395 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 491.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 220,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,569,000 after purchasing an additional 183,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Ferguson by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 77,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,014,000 after purchasing an additional 39,267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $212.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.09. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $133.79 and a 12-month high of $224.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in 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 raised shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.