Robeco Schweiz AG Acquires 19,190 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Robeco Schweiz AG lifted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 566,450 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,190 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up 2.2% of Robeco Schweiz AG's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Robeco Schweiz AG owned about 0.28% of Ferguson worth $90,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 68.3% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,671 shares of the company's stock worth $2,511,000 after acquiring an additional 6,361 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 132.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 318 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3,777.8% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 12.4% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Partners in Financial Planning increased its holdings in Ferguson by 14.0% during the first quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 7,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.60.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG traded down $3.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $220.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,092,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,346. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $226.63. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $200.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $43.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (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%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's payout ratio is 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.