Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,660,299 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,506,024 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 3.83% of Ferguson worth $1,227,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Ferguson by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.27.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Ferguson stock traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $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 market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $195.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.62.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. 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.