Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Position Lessened by Fiduciary Management Inc. WI

Fiduciary Management Inc. WI decreased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,790,677 shares of the company's stock after selling 163,654 shares during the period. Ferguson comprises about 4.5% of Fiduciary Management Inc. WI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI owned 1.40% of Ferguson worth $484,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $469,730,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Ferguson by 208.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,973,000 after buying an additional 1,811,287 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 18.2% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,539,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.1 %

FERG traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $163.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,594,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,372. The company has a market cap of $32.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a PEG 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. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $165.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.77. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.38.

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.