Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Trims Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lowered its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 44.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,570 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,170 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned about 0.06% of Ferguson worth $21,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Natixis lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 106,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,529,000 after buying an additional 54,726 shares in the last quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 639,448 shares of the company's stock worth $110,989,000 after buying an additional 57,705 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Ferguson by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,550,447 shares of the company's stock worth $269,111,000 after buying an additional 574,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Ferguson by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 683,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,666,000 after acquiring an additional 197,084 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.73. The stock 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 PE ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $164.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

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.