J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Purchases New Shares in Ferguson plc $FERG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 54,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,757,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the first quarter valued at $649,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $948,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2,762.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 6,381 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 170,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,817,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.61.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $227.85 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $207.64 and a 52-week high of $271.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $232.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The company had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson 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.