Mirabella Financial Services LLP Reduces Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mirabella Financial Services LLP cut its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 96.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,801 shares of the company's stock after selling 48,389 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP's holdings in Ferguson were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $587,000. Clean Yield Group boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company's stock worth $4,506,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 106,000 shares of the company's stock worth $18,398,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $169.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,471,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,856. The stock has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50 day moving average price is $164.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.29. 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 plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

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.