National Pension Service Sells 37,300 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

National Pension Service lowered its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,300 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $45,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 906.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $175.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $178.13 and its 200 day moving average is $193.45. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $167.27 and a 1 year high of $225.63. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 39.86%.

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.