Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 98.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,099 shares of the company's stock after selling 668,585 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Ferguson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,390 shares of the company's stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 333 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.07.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $211.64 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.60 and a 200 day moving average of $178.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $41.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.40%.

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.

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