Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 434,650 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises approximately 0.6% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 3.06% of Ferguson worth $1,331,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after acquiring an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after buying an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after buying an additional 25,785 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,786,000 after buying an additional 682,666 shares during the period. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,776,000 after buying an additional 100,559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.58.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $230.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.15. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.