Candriam S.C.A. Has $12.17 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 70,102 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,505 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $12,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 423.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Ferguson by 339.9% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,234,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,320,000 after acquiring an additional 954,092 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Ferguson by 7,632.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 677,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,626,000 after acquiring an additional 668,920 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,523,000 after buying an additional 415,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in Ferguson by 133.3% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,999,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.73.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $168.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.32. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $163.01 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.