200,739 Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 200,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,842,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.10% of Ferguson as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 944.4% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $469,730,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 208.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock worth $464,973,000 after buying an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after buying an additional 1,539,889 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $239,539,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG traded up $1.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $170.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,537,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,582,228. The firm has a market cap of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $164.79 and a 200-day moving average of $182.07.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.

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.