Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,821 shares of the company’s stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 906.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.73.

Ferguson Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $157.54 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $154.09 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $176.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.11.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.