Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Buys 57,705 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 639,448 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,705 shares during the period. Ferguson accounts for approximately 2.1% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Ferguson worth $110,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company's stock worth $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company's stock worth $135,247,000 after acquiring an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $587,000. Clean Yield Group increased its position in Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company's stock worth $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 106,000 shares of the company's stock worth $18,398,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Zelman & Associates lowered Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $163.44. 1,594,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,117. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $165.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.77. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $32.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for 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%. Ferguson's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a 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.