PBMares Wealth Management LLC Invests $550,000 in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

PBMares Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $469,730,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 208.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock worth $1,740,049,000 after buying an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.27.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG traded up $4.41 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $219.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,717,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,659,852. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $225.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $43.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.75.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. 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.