Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Purchased by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 139,655 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,542 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $24,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Ferguson by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,506,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $162.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $175.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.40. 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 plc has a 1 year low of $152.52 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results 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). The company 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 for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.64.

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.