DnB Asset Management AS Trims Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 35.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,779 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $12,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after buying an additional 5,534 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $160.63 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $173.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $152.52 and a 1-year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.84%.

Ferguson 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.