Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Bought by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. increased its Ferguson stake by 408.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 9,915 shares valued at about $2.21 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on Ferguson, with Wells Fargo, Barclays, and RBC raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target of $269.73.
• Ferguson reported strong quarterly results, earning $2.28 per share versus $2.14 expected on revenue of $7.47 billion, and also announced a $2 billion share buyback plus a quarterly dividend of $0.89 per share.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 408.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,915 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,964 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Durable Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $244,561,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 588.1% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,087,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,236,000 after purchasing an additional 929,475 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $838,786,000 after purchasing an additional 682,666 shares during the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 114.7% in the 3rd quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 1,255,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,879,000 after purchasing an additional 670,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 502.8% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 765,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,967,000 after purchasing an additional 638,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ferguson from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $269.73.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $241.47 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $243.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $244.09. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $170.23 and a 12-month high of $271.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $46.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Trending Headlines about Ferguson

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 Company 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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