Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 339.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,234,776 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 954,092 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.62% of Ferguson worth $214,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% in the third 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 period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $970,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Ferguson by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Ferguson by 66.2% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have issued reports on FERG. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.73.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ferguson
Ferguson Trading Up 0.8 %
Ferguson stock traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $185.79. 1,154,754 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,415,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $179.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $167.27 and a 52-week high of $225.63.
Ferguson Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Ferguson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Ferguson's payout ratio is presently 39.86%.
About Ferguson
(
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.
Further Reading
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