Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 539,977 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management trimmed its stake in Ferguson by 17%, selling 539,977 shares and leaving it with 2,627,515 shares (about 1.34% of the company) valued at roughly $585 million.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive—MarketBeat shows a "Moderate Buy" average rating and $267.27 average target, with several firms raising targets up to $300 and multiple buy/strong-buy recommendations.
• Ferguson missed Q3 EPS (reported $1.99 vs. $2.24 expected) despite 3.6% revenue growth, and announced a $0.89 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.56, ~1.4% yield; ex-dividend March 6, payable April 30).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,627,515 shares of the company's stock after selling 539,977 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 1.34% of Ferguson worth $585,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after acquiring an additional 102,850 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,000,152,000 after purchasing an additional 81,094 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson by 2.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,367,818 shares of the company's stock worth $980,921,000 after purchasing an additional 112,157 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Ferguson by 22.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company's stock worth $838,786,000 after purchasing an additional 682,666 shares during the period. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company's stock worth $806,776,000 after purchasing an additional 100,559 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on FERG. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $278.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.27.

Ferguson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s published a bullish note arguing Ferguson’s shares remain undervalued and could gain roughly 25% over the next 12–18 months, citing the company’s scale in plumbing/hVAC distribution and margin recovery potential. This Plumbing Supplier's Stock Is Still Too Cheap
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent headlines mentioning “Ferguson” relate to people or the city of Ferguson (local government votes on data-center tax breaks, celebrity stories) and are unrelated to Ferguson plc’s business — these can create noise but not company-specific fundamental impact. Representative example: local data-center vote coverage. Ferguson delays vote on tax incentives for $1.8B data center project
• Negative Sentiment: Ferguson reported Q3 results that missed EPS expectations (reported $1.99 vs. $2.24 consensus) and showed modest revenue growth; that earnings miss is a near-term driver of downward pressure and investor caution. Key fundamentals from public filings and market pages: net margin ~6.9%, ROE ~40%, P/E ~26.6 and a PEG ~2.13 — factors investors watch for growth/valuation trade-offs. Ferguson Stock Profile

Ferguson Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE FERG opened at $263.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $243.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.08. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $165.10 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a market capitalization of $51.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.25). Ferguson had a return on equity of 40.37% and a net margin of 6.93%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson's payout ratio is presently 35.96%.

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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