HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 5,840 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ferguson plc by 37.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,840 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 21,473 shares worth about $4.78 million.
• Several other large institutional investors, including Vanguard, State Street, Franklin Resources, and Wellington Management, also added to their Ferguson positions. Institutional ownership remains high at 81.98% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts are broadly constructive on Ferguson, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.73. The company also recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and announced both a quarterly dividend and a $2 billion share buyback.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,473 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,840 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company's stock worth $4,323,104,000 after acquiring an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ferguson by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company's stock worth $1,000,152,000 after buying an additional 81,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 2.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,367,818 shares of the company's stock worth $980,921,000 after buying an additional 112,157 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Ferguson by 22.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company's stock worth $838,786,000 after buying an additional 682,666 shares during the period. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Ferguson by 2.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company's stock worth $806,776,000 after buying an additional 100,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on FERG. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $269.73.

Ferguson News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Recent headlines centered on Sarah Ferguson’s reported ties to a scrapped NBC talk show deal, alleged personal scandals, and biographical claims about Princess Diana; these stories are unrelated to Ferguson plc’s fundamentals and are unlikely to materially affect the stock. Sarah Ferguson’s Actions Scrapped Major NBC Talk Show Deal — Source
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage about Sarah Ferguson’s “chaotic” royal household and a rumored relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs is celebrity/royal gossip, not company-specific news for Ferguson plc. How Sarah Ferguson’s 'chaotic' parenting squandered her talk show dreams with NBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles reference Sarah Ferguson’s relationship with Prince Andrew and past disputes with Princess Diana, which do not provide any direct operational or financial catalyst for Ferguson plc shares. Sarah Ferguson doesn’t want to leave ex-husband former Prince Andrew ‘high and dry’ after scandals, claims expert

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $226.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $240.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.18. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $177.75 and a one year high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The business's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson NYSE: FERG is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.

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