University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Purchases Shares of 972 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 906.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Ferguson by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $178.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.99. 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 plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

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.