California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 69,452,584 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 23,684.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,745,828 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 69,452,584 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.36% of Ferguson worth $16,552,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after purchasing an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ferguson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,567,000 after purchasing an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,959,000 after purchasing an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total transaction of $1,195,472.84. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,191,430.80. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $228.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $235.33 and its 200-day moving average is $237.85.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%.The business had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.83%.

About Ferguson

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.