BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 15,753 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 318,939 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,753 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.16% of Ferguson worth $55,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 944.4% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $469,730,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 208.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,973,000 after buying an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,539,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $182.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.29. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.38.

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.