Vancity Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 55,818 Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Vancity Investment Management Ltd acquired 55,818 shares of Ferguson plc, representing about 1.2% of its investment portfolio, valued at approximately $8.94 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Mirae Asset Global Investments and Fiera Capital Corp, have increased their stakes in Ferguson, contributing to institutional investors owning 81.98% of the company's stock.
• Wall Street analysts maintain an average target price of $221.00 for Ferguson, with ten analysts rating it as a Buy and six as Hold.

Vancity Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 55,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,944,000. Ferguson comprises about 1.2% of Vancity Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on FERG shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank restated a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.00.

Ferguson Stock Down 6.4%

FERG stock traded down $14.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.23. 4,185,406 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,721,694. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $243.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $226.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.33. The stock has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is 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.