8,033 Shares in Ferguson plc $FERG Bought by Applied Capital LLC FL

Key Points

• Applied Capital LLC FL acquired a new position in Ferguson plc, purchasing 8,033 shares valued at approximately $1.75 million, making Ferguson the firm's 26th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Ferguson, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. boosting their holdings by 65%, bringing their total to over 4.45 million shares.
• Analysts have raised their target prices on Ferguson, with Wells Fargo increasing its target from $250 to $275 and a consensus target price now at $235.71, indicating a general bullish sentiment towards the stock.

Applied Capital LLC FL purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,749,000. Ferguson accounts for approximately 1.3% of Applied Capital LLC FL's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,071,408,000 after buying an additional 806,718 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 24.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,660,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,227,410,000 after buying an additional 1,506,024 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 13.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after buying an additional 827,355 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 65.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,740,000 after buying an additional 1,755,464 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 101.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $667,498,000 after buying an additional 2,094,029 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.71.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $231.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.11. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $243.40.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.

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