Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,981 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,657 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.14% of Ferguson worth $53,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FERG. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 542,455 shares of the company's stock worth $104,318,000 after buying an additional 29,396 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 807.2% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock worth $2,802,000 after buying an additional 12,915 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,707 shares of the company's stock worth $5,929,000 after buying an additional 8,395 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 491.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 220,483 shares of the company's stock worth $42,569,000 after buying an additional 183,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $8,341,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James downgraded Ferguson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock traded down $3.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $211.44. 1,163,405 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,155,774. The company has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $210.16 and its 200 day moving average is $187.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $130.75 and a 12-month high of $224.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The business's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

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.