Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Acquired by Findlay Park Partners LLP

Key Points

• Findlay Park Partners LLP significantly increased its stake in Ferguson plc by 61.8%, acquiring 312,800 shares to hold a total of 819,110 shares, valued at approximately $131.2 million.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Ferguson, with UBS and Barclays increasing their estimates to $204.00 and $247.00 respectively, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $220.64.
• Ferguson recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, amounting to an annual yield of 1.4%, supported by a payout ratio of 41.40%.

Findlay Park Partners LLP boosted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 61.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 819,110 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 312,800 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP owned about 0.41% of Ferguson worth $131,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,661,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,403,000 after purchasing an additional 240,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 233.7% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 36,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,267,000 after purchasing an additional 25,241 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.5%

FERG traded down $1.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $233.95. The company had a trading volume of 778,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,232. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $238.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $46.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $224.35 and a 200-day moving average of $192.60.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Ferguson's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.64.

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.