Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Reduces Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,112 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,454 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Ferguson were worth $6,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 76.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company's stock worth $172,281,000 after purchasing an additional 377,283 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company's stock worth $477,858,000 after acquiring an additional 133,769 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 167.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 399 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FERG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five research 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of FERG traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.24. The company had a trading volume of 756,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,546. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. 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 issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Ferguson's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Ferguson's payout ratio is 40.84%.

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.