Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.52 Million Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Ferguson plc by 12.5%, now holding shares valued at $1.52 million.
• Ferguson plc's stock has seen analysts provide varied recommendations, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.64.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.50, exceeding expectations, along with a recent quarterly dividend announcement of $0.83 per share, yielding 1.5%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,457 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,345 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,071,408,000 after acquiring an additional 806,718 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 24.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,506,024 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Ferguson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company's stock worth $856,746,000 after acquiring an additional 62,887 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Ferguson by 29.6% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,635,707 shares of the company's stock worth $582,452,000 after acquiring an additional 831,112 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Ferguson by 15.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,989,999 shares of the company's stock worth $479,088,000 after acquiring an additional 411,088 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $223.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.88. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $228.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

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