Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,355,534 shares of the company's stock after selling 573,487 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.68% of Ferguson worth $235,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FERG. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 74,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,765,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 76.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,281,000 after purchasing an additional 377,283 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company's stock worth $633,409,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth about $970,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Ferguson Trading Up 2.0 %
Shares of NASDAQ FERG traded up $3.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $168.10. The stock had a trading volume of 323,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,555,421. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.30. The company has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.
Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.
Ferguson Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Ferguson's payout ratio is currently 40.84%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on FERG
Ferguson Profile
(
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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