Equitable Trust Co. Sells 10,984 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. has drastically reduced its stake in Ferguson plc by 89.7%, selling 10,984 shares and holding only 1,266 shares valued at $203,000.
• Ferguson recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.50, beating estimates and showing a revenue increase of 4.3% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Ferguson, with Barclays setting a new target of $247.00 and Wells Fargo raising theirs to $250.00, both giving the stock an "overweight" rating.

Equitable Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 89.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,266 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,984 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Ferguson were worth $203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock worth $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Ferguson by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,660,299 shares of the company's stock worth $1,227,410,000 after buying an additional 1,506,024 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,120 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $856,746,000 after acquiring an additional 62,887 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 29.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,635,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $582,452,000 after purchasing an additional 831,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.64.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:FERG traded down $1.15 on Thursday, reaching $224.32. 220,040 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,765,959. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $228.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $212.90 and its 200-day moving average is $185.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.