3,444 Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Bought by Seven Eight Capital LP

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FERG. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 189,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,658,000 after acquiring an additional 46,110 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,365,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 81,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,699,000 after purchasing an additional 7,193 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 22,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,391,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 46,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on FERG shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $196.52 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $147.62 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.