First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 407,412 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,646 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.20% of Ferguson worth $70,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Teca Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 288.3% in the fourth quarter. Teca Partners LP now owns 99,099 shares of the company's stock worth $17,201,000 after acquiring an additional 73,576 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Research Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 26,648 shares of the company's stock worth $4,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,931,081 shares of the company's stock worth $335,178,000 after purchasing an additional 473,230 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 55,932 shares of the company's stock worth $9,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $169.73. 1,471,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,582,407. The stock has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.

Ferguson 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.