Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 47.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,765 shares of the company's stock after selling 77,653 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Ferguson were worth $15,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $613,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $469,730,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 208.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company's stock worth $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $239,539,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Ferguson Trading Up 1.5 %
Shares of FERG stock traded up $2.60 on Friday, hitting $172.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,406,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,591,984. 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 twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.30. The firm has a market cap of $34.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.
Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Ferguson Dividend Announcement
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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently commented on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.38.
Check Out Our Latest Report on FERG
About Ferguson
(
Free Report)
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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