Atria Investments Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Atria Investments Inc decreased its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,972 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,977 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FERG. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,143 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 954,092 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7,632.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 677,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,626,000 after purchasing an additional 668,920 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,523,000 after acquiring an additional 415,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 133.3% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 700,000 shares of the company's stock worth $138,999,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

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Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $155.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,907,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,873,573. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.86. 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 company has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $152.52 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Ferguson's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $193.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.64.

About Ferguson

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.