Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Has $110.99 Million Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC lifted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 639,448 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 57,705 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises approximately 2.1% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Ferguson worth $110,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. FMR LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after buying an additional 1,539,889 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,120 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,082,000 after purchasing an additional 18,036 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,814,000 after purchasing an additional 192,052 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $164.28 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.30. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.38.

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.