Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Buys Shares of 7,566 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,313,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 944.4% during 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $469,730,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 208.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,287 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,539,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Up 2.8%

FERG stock traded up $4.79 on Monday, reaching $175.98. 913,111 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,601,350. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $225.63. 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 company has a market cap of $35.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.98.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Zelman & Associates cut Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.38.

Ferguson 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.