UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Purchases 205,531 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its holdings in Ferguson plc by 11.9% to nearly 1.93 million shares, now representing approximately 0.97% of the company's stock.
• A number of analysts have raised their price targets for Ferguson, with Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada setting targets at $247.00 and $231.00 respectively, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Ferguson plc's shares opened at $223.99 with a market capitalization of $44.17 billion and a PE ratio of 26.89.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,932,959 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 205,531 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.97% of Ferguson worth $309,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at $3,605,000. Rivermont Capital Management LP increased its position in Ferguson by 60.0% in the first quarter. Rivermont Capital Management LP now owns 99,279 shares of the company's stock worth $15,907,000 after purchasing an additional 37,227 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 96.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,251 shares of the company's stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 9,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the period. Finally, Vancity Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,944,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.00.

Ferguson Stock Down 6.4%

FERG traded down $14.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $211.23. The company had a trading volume of 4,185,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,694. The company has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $243.40. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $226.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.47.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.