Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Purchased by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,149 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,819 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Ferguson were worth $5,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company's stock worth $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 106,000 shares of the company's stock worth $18,398,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 35,015 shares of the company's stock worth $5,610,000 after buying an additional 10,064 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 19,616.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 573,143 shares of the company's stock worth $91,835,000 after buying an additional 570,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolf Group Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FERG. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ferguson from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.27.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $223.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,075,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,678,329. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $225.63.

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, 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%. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.