Wills Financial Group Inc. Purchases 5,156 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Wills Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,909 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,156 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up about 1.9% of Wills Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Wills Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 34,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,027,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $34,842,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,071,844 shares of the company's stock worth $359,610,000 after acquiring an additional 412,805 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.5 %

Ferguson stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $170.53. The stock had a trading volume of 487,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,934,085. The stock has a market cap of $34.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.71. 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 plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's payout ratio is 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FERG. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $193.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.