XTX Topco Ltd Sells 26,091 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

XTX Topco Ltd cut its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 91.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,538 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,091 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Ferguson were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 32.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ferguson by 7.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $587,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 27.1% in the 4th 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, Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 106,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,398,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates cut Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 3.9 %

FERG stock traded up $6.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $169.49. 1,851,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,578,835. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $165.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.46. The firm has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.84%.

About Ferguson

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.