Natixis Advisors LLC Has $23.30 Million Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,248 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,990 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $23,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 906.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on FERG. Barclays lowered their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.7 %

Ferguson stock opened at $162.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $175.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.70. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $152.52 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. 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 (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its 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). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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%.

Ferguson Company 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.