Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,567 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,131 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $23,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 542,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,318,000 after buying an additional 29,396 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 807.2% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after acquiring an additional 12,915 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,929,000 after acquiring an additional 8,395 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 491.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 220,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,569,000 after purchasing an additional 183,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 102.0% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 77,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,014,000 after purchasing an additional 39,267 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James cut Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $211.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $137.12 and a 1 year high of $224.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $212.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.35.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

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.