Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Boosts Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its stake in Ferguson plc by 4.6%, holding 47,461 shares valued at approximately $10.34 million as of its latest filing.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Ferguson, with Wells Fargo & Company increasing its target from $250 to $275, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Ferguson announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with the annualized yield standing at 1.5%, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,461 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Ferguson were worth $10,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 101.1% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company's stock worth $667,498,000 after buying an additional 2,094,029 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 65.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company's stock worth $713,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Ferguson by 24.5% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,506,024 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,402,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 769.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,266,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,249 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.71.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $225.80 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average is $227.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.91. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $243.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid 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 yield of 1.5%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.55%.

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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