Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Ferguson plc by 30.4%, selling 114,482 shares and holding 262,431 shares worth approximately $42.05 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Grove Bank & Trust and Whipplewood Advisors LLC, increased their stakes significantly in Ferguson during the first quarter of 2023.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ferguson's future, with ten rating the stock as a Buy and an average target price increase to $220.64, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 30.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 262,431 shares of the company's stock after selling 114,482 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Ferguson worth $42,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ferguson by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,661,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,403,000 after acquiring an additional 240,556 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Ferguson by 233.7% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 36,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,267,000 after acquiring an additional 25,241 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $728,000. Finally, Third Point LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 1,200,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,284,000 after acquiring an additional 235,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FERG shares. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price target (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $229.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,141,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,762. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $225.40 and a 200 day moving average of $193.92. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $238.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.