C WorldWide Group Holding A S Trims Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• C WorldWide Group Holding A S reduced its Ferguson plc stake by 75.8% in Q4, selling 405,601 shares and leaving it with 129,762 shares worth about $28.9 million.
• Ferguson posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, reporting EPS of $2.28 versus the $2.14 consensus, on revenue of $7.47 billion and 3.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $269.73; Ferguson also announced a $2 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.89 per share.

C WorldWide Group Holding A S cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 75.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,762 shares of the company's stock after selling 405,601 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises approximately 0.5% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. C WorldWide Group Holding A S owned approximately 0.07% of Ferguson worth $28,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the company's stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Ferguson by 7.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company's stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Ferguson by 21.7% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 292 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ferguson from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $269.73.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $241.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $170.23 and a one year high of $271.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $243.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.09.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.92% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.36%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several entertainment stories allege that Sarah Ferguson had a past relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs, but these reports are unrelated to Ferguson plc’s business and are unlikely to be a direct stock catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional articles repeat the same royal-biography claims and author comments, creating more news flow around the “Ferguson” name without tying back to the company’s fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Political and ethics headlines involving officials named Ferguson also appear in the news feed, but they do not relate to Ferguson plc and should have limited direct impact on the stock.

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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