KBC Group NV Acquires 14,531 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 671,258 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,531 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $156,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 350,745.0% during the fourth quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,382,000 after buying an additional 522,610 shares during the period. Marsico Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth $11,017,000. Lmcg Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth $1,806,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $891,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Ferguson by 89.6% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 14,644 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.21.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of FERG stock opened at $231.39 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $207.64 and a 1-year high of $271.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $230.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ferguson

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.