Markel Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 541.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,500 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,500 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Ferguson were worth $7,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,247,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,094,000 after acquiring an additional 196,489 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,693,464 shares of the company's stock worth $278,524,000 after buying an additional 99,758 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,636,434 shares of the company's stock worth $269,144,000 after buying an additional 760,800 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 922,025 shares of the company's stock worth $151,648,000 after buying an additional 22,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 891,534 shares of the company's stock worth $146,631,000 after buying an additional 259,197 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ferguson Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FERG stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $213.33. 944,431 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,418. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $134.55 and a fifty-two week high of $224.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.27.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio 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.

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