Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ferguson plc by 65%, owning approximately 4.45 million shares valued at nearly $714 million, as of the latest SEC filing.
• Ferguson's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $2.50 earnings per share, which was $0.44 higher than analysts' estimates, contributing to a 4.3% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Several brokerages have raised their target prices for Ferguson, with Wells Fargo's new target set at $250 and Royal Bank of Canada increasing its target to $231, indicating a consensus average target price of $220.64.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,454,467 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 2.23% of Ferguson worth $713,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 101.1% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company's stock worth $667,498,000 after buying an additional 2,094,029 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 24.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,660,299 shares of the company's stock worth $1,227,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,024 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 94.6% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,402,527 shares of the company's stock worth $384,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,751 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 769.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,266,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1,036.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,020,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,518,000 after purchasing an additional 930,696 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on FERG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $234.48. 234,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,681,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.24. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $238.16. The company has a market cap of $46.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%.Ferguson's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.