Deutsche Bank AG Sells 2,774 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 540,507 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,774 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.27% of Ferguson worth $86,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG traded up $1.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $230.00. The stock had a trading volume of 396,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,207. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $220.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.07. The firm has a market cap of $45.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $232.03. 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 quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Ferguson's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Berenberg Bank restated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.64.

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.