Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,990 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,572 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,137,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Ferguson by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.10.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $180.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.93. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $167.27 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 39.86%.

Ferguson 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.