Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,696 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,462,000 after acquiring an additional 288,935 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,409,000 after purchasing an additional 25,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,858,000 after purchasing an additional 133,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FERG. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $162.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $152.52 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.75.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.

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.