Swiss National Bank Trims Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 637,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $123,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 193,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,819,000 after acquiring an additional 20,268 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 144.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 2,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 34,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,695,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James cut shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $217.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $137.12 and a 52-week high of $224.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.02. The company has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.27.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. Ferguson’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 36.74%.

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.