T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $359.61 Million Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,071,844 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 412,805 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.04% of Ferguson worth $359,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock worth $1,740,049,000 after buying an additional 1,539,889 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,120 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company's stock worth $557,082,000 after acquiring an additional 18,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Ferguson by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,814,000 after buying an additional 192,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Zelman & Associates lowered Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:FERG traded down $1.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $168.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 778,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,153. The company has a market cap of $33.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $225.63. The business's 50-day moving average is $164.57 and its 200-day moving average is $181.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company 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 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 1.96%. Ferguson's payout ratio is presently 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.