California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 9,047 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its Ferguson holdings by 3.0%, selling 9,047 shares and retaining 293,244 shares worth approximately $68.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.98% of the company.
• Ferguson exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.28 in EPS versus the $2.14 consensus estimate and $7.47 billion in revenue, up 3.6% year over year.
• The company authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program, covering up to 3.9% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $277.21.

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,244 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,047 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.15% of Ferguson worth $68,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Ferguson by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company's stock worth $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 434,650 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ferguson by 1.8% in 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 during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company's stock worth $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

NYSE FERG opened at $226.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $230.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $207.64 and a 52-week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.21.

About Ferguson

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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