Markel Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Ferguson worth $19,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 35,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,610,000 after purchasing an additional 10,064 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3,777.8% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth about $932,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $219.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.37. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $226.63. The company has a market cap of $43.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Ferguson 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.