Vanguard Group Inc. Has $3.19 Billion Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,362,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,557 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.18% of Ferguson worth $3,187,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FERG. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 423.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 339.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 7,632.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,523,000 after purchasing an additional 415,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FERG. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.67.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.5 %

FERG opened at $165.30 on Wednesday. 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 plc has a fifty-two week low of $152.52 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $174.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

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.