GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,388 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,213 shares during the period. Ferguson makes up 5.6% of GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Ferguson worth $49,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock worth $613,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth $469,730,000. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $239,539,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2,384.2% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,071,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,993,000 after buying an additional 1,028,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased 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 worth $214,320,000 after buying an additional 954,092 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FERG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on Ferguson and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.62.
View Our Latest Report on Ferguson
Ferguson Stock Performance
NASDAQ FERG traded down $3.19 on Friday, reaching $155.22. 4,323,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,635. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $149.28 and a one year high of $225.63. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $171.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.
Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ferguson Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.
Ferguson Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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