Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $65.04 Million Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 374,707 shares of the company's stock after selling 144,160 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.19% of Ferguson worth $65,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,281,000 after acquiring an additional 377,283 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Ferguson by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company's stock worth $477,858,000 after buying an additional 133,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $170.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 407,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $164.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on Ferguson and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.

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.