UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,727,428 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 264,592 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $299,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,120 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Ferguson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,746,000 after purchasing an additional 62,887 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,082,000 after purchasing an additional 18,036 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $178.81 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.29. The firm has a market cap of $35.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.84%.

Ferguson Company 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.