Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $26.99 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 40.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93,900 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.07% of Ferguson worth $26,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BayBridge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.0% during the first quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 1.8% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Trading Down 5.6 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $196.52 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $204.73 and its 200-day moving average is $206.86. The firm has a market cap 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.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.