Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $109.64 Million Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Ferguson plc by 12.1%, owning 0.34% of the company, equivalent to approximately $109.6 million after selling 94,460 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Ferguson recently reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.06, and demonstrated a 4.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, representing a 1.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 41.40%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 684,277 shares of the company's stock after selling 94,460 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.34% of Ferguson worth $109,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the first quarter valued at about $843,000. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Ferguson by 37.5% during the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 3,559 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 24.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ferguson by 29.6% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,635,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $582,452,000 after buying an additional 831,112 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FERG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.64.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:FERG traded up $3.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $231.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,686,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,971. The business's 50 day moving average is $220.99 and its 200 day moving average is $189.41. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $232.11. The stock has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

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.