Renaissance Group LLC Sells 4,556 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Renaissance Group LLC trimmed its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 160,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,556 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $27,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 906.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 92.5% in 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. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.62.

Ferguson Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $152.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.15 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid 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 2.18%. 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.