Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 4.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 443,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,488 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $103,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,621,000 after buying an additional 434,650 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,567,000 after acquiring an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $3.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.85. 1,257,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,090. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $207.64 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $232.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.17.

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

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 41.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FERG. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.61.

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.