Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 64.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 466,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 830,134 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $81,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on FERG shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $163.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.89. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $152.52 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $32.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. 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 data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.

Ferguson 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.