Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Sells 1,681 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Ferguson plc by 29.1%, selling 1,681 shares and retaining a total of 4,101 shares, worth $893,000.
• Several institutional investors made significant increases in their Ferguson positions in the first quarter, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. boosting their holdings by 65% and T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increasing theirs by 101.1%.
• Ferguson reported strong quarterly earnings with $3.48 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and declares a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, reflecting a 1.4% dividend yield.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,101 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,681 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Ferguson were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,227,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,024 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 13.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after acquiring an additional 827,355 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 65.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 101.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $667,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FERG. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.71.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NYSE:FERG opened at $234.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $46.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $243.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $228.92.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferguson's payout ratio is 35.55%.

About Ferguson

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.

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