Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV significantly reduced its stake in Ferguson plc by 73.3%, selling 195,749 shares and retaining 71,400 shares valued at approximately $11.44 million.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a generally positive outlook for Ferguson, with ten analysts giving a buy rating and a consensus price target of $220.64 per share.
• Ferguson announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, with a yield of 1.5%, to be paid to shareholders of record on June 20th.

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 73.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,400 shares of the company's stock after selling 195,749 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Ferguson were worth $11,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 208.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 24.5% in the first 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 period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,039,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,120 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 94.6% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,402,527 shares of the company's stock worth $384,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $224.73. The stock had a trading volume of 982,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,745,063. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $218.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.59. The company has a market cap of $44.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. 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 plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $228.80.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. Ferguson's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's payout ratio is 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.