Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,035 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 80.1% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,166,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,493,000 after buying an additional 9,562 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,834,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 60,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,663,000 after buying an additional 10,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Ferguson during the first quarter valued at $5,016,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $196.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $204.88 and its 200 day moving average is $206.95. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.54%.

About Ferguson

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.