Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 36,106 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,106 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $19,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,247,000 after acquiring an additional 52,776 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter valued at about $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its holdings in Ferguson by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,506,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $163.28 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $152.52 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.20 and a 200-day moving average of $187.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $32.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.