Korea Investment CORP Sells 11,114 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Korea Investment CORP cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 120,077 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,114 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $28,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Ferguson by 2.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Ferguson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after acquiring an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $261.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.93.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $242.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $207.64 and a one year high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $237.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.50.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 41.83%.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.