Partners in Financial Planning Purchases New Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FERG. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $905,230,000 after buying an additional 161,662 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $613,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $633,409,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company's stock worth $486,814,000 after purchasing an additional 192,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $469,730,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FERG. Wolfe Research began coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. 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. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates downgraded Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.62.

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Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG traded down $3.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.22. 4,323,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,530,107. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $149.28 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $171.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.61. The company has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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