Legal & General Group Plc Sells 53,786 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,368,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,786 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.71% of Ferguson worth $324,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in Ferguson by 123.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.93.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.6%

FERG stock opened at $232.66 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $237.14 and a 200 day moving average of $240.04.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%.The business had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 41.83%.

Ferguson announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board 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.