Trillium Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Trillium Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 157,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,050 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $27,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 21,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after buying an additional 3,202 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,945,000. Polen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 139,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,246,000 after purchasing an additional 13,542 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Ferguson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $162.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $175.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $152.52 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

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.