Quilter Plc Lowers Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Quilter Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,776 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,983 shares during the period. Quilter Plc owned about 0.05% of Ferguson worth $16,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,120 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 62,887 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,082,000 after buying an additional 18,036 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of FERG opened at $218.32 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The company has a market capitalization of $43.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $188.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Ferguson's payout ratio is 41.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.27.

About Ferguson

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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