BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Has $55.36 Million Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 318,939 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,753 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.16% of Ferguson worth $55,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $613,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $469,730,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 208.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock worth $464,973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock worth $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,539,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock traded down $1.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $178.19. 1,551,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,626,201. The company has a 50-day moving average of $167.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.55. The company has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.

About Ferguson

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.