M&T Bank Corp Has $1.15 Million Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 73.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,146 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,894 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.2% in the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 3,050 shares of the company's stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% in the first quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 6,311 shares of the company's stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 56.5% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 205 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 6.5% in the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company's stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.60.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $217.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 957,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,807,170. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $226.63. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.77 and a 200-day moving average of $181.82.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's payout ratio is 41.40%.

About Ferguson

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.