Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 105,555 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. dramatically increased its Ferguson stake by 1,423.3% in the first quarter, buying 105,555 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 112,971 shares worth about $26.4 million.
• Ferguson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.28 per share versus $2.14 estimated, while revenue rose 3.6% year over year to $7.47 billion.
• The company also announced a $2 billion share buyback plan and a quarterly dividend of $0.89 per share, signaling continued shareholder returns.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 1,423.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,971 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 105,555 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.06% of Ferguson worth $26,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company's stock worth $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company's stock worth $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,331,621,000 after purchasing an additional 434,650 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,005,567,000 after buying an additional 79,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $977,959,000 after buying an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ferguson from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $277.58.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $238.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.14. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $207.64 and a 52-week high of $271.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.15.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is 41.40%.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson NYSE: FERG is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.

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