Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Sells 103,170 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. trimmed its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 44.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,570 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,170 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned 0.06% of Ferguson worth $21,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company's stock worth $135,247,000 after purchasing an additional 52,776 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $587,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company's stock worth $4,506,000 after buying an additional 5,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 106,000 shares of the company's stock worth $18,398,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Zelman & Associates lowered Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG traded up $6.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $169.49. 1,851,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,578,835. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $165.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during 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%. Ferguson's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio 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.