Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 144,160 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 374,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,160 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.19% of Ferguson worth $65,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,281,000 after purchasing an additional 377,283 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $112,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $66,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,858,000 after buying an additional 133,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.1 %

Ferguson stock opened at $169.73 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.38.

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.