Westerkirk Capital Inc. Sells 7,400 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Westerkirk Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,271 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,400 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,152,000 after acquiring an additional 81,094 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 22.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,786,000 after acquiring an additional 682,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 2.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,776,000 after acquiring an additional 100,559 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.77.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $224.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.28. The stock has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.15. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $207.64 and a 52 week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson Company 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.