California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 324,623 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,464 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.16% of Ferguson worth $56,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 76.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company's stock worth $172,281,000 after buying an additional 377,283 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $467,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $385,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ferguson from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.15.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $182.43. 2,856,524 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,631,324. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $169.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. Ferguson's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.

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.