Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,213 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth about $467,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 114,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,940,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 910.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 366,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,529,000 after purchasing an additional 329,786 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.7 %

FERG opened at $181.77 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $167.27 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.59 and its 200 day moving average is $197.46.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates cut shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.10.

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.