Markel Group Inc. Acquires 7,200 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,700 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Ferguson worth $39,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company's stock worth $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company's stock worth $1,331,621,000 after acquiring an additional 434,650 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ferguson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company's stock worth $1,005,567,000 after acquiring an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Ferguson from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ferguson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.61.

Ferguson Price Performance

NYSE FERG traded up $3.23 on Friday, hitting $227.85. 1,257,084 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,090. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $232.28 and a 200-day moving average of $240.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $207.64 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The stock has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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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