State Street Corp Boosts Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• State Street increased its Ferguson stake by 1.1% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 4.62 million shares worth approximately $1.10 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 81.98% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Ferguson carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $285.57; RBC and Wells Fargo recently raised their targets.
• Ferguson exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus on $8.75 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.89 per share, representing a 1.6% annualized yield.

State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,619,995 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,544 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 2.39% of Ferguson worth $1,100,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company's stock worth $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,809,000 after acquiring an additional 240,666 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $498,005,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total transaction of $1,195,472.84. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,191,430.80. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 2.4%

FERG stock opened at $221.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $212.13 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $233.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.95. The stock has a market cap of $42.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.83%.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc NYSE: FERG is a value-added distributor of plumbing and heating products, water and wastewater solutions, fire protection equipment, HVAC supplies, and related products. The company primarily serves professional contractors and other trade customers, helping them source products, obtain technical support, and manage projects through its distribution network and digital platforms.

Ferguson operates mainly in North America, with businesses serving residential and commercial construction, infrastructure, facilities maintenance, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada.

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