Blair William & Co. IL Grows Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,069 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,193 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $15,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $104,723,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $89,758,000. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $61,782,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $208.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $204.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.94.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. Analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

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.