Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Ferguson stake by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 1.4 million shares valued at about $312.7 million. Institutional investors remain major owners, controlling nearly 82% of the company.
• Ferguson reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.28 versus analyst expectations of $2.14 and revenue of $7.47 billion, up 3.6% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 11.25 EPS for the full year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.89 per share and launched a $2 billion share repurchase program. Several analysts also raised price targets, with the consensus rating remaining “Moderate Buy.”

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,403,079 shares of the company's stock after selling 101,955 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.72% of Ferguson worth $312,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP now owns 349,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,378,000 after purchasing an additional 121,500 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 535,363 shares of the company's stock worth $120,232,000 after acquiring an additional 278,971 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 322,924 shares of the company's stock worth $72,522,000 after acquiring an additional 55,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 147,000 shares of the company's stock worth $33,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of FERG opened at $226.99 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $177.75 and a 52-week high of $271.64. The company has a market capitalization of $44.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.92% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $269.73.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FERG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.