Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Acquired by C WorldWide Group Holding A S

C WorldWide Group Holding A S lifted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 108.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 535,363 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 278,971 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises about 1.8% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. C WorldWide Group Holding A S owned approximately 0.27% of Ferguson worth $120,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,341,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,211,692,000 after purchasing an additional 173,128 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,977,000 after purchasing an additional 27,312 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,830,000 after buying an additional 1,201,493 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,776,000 after acquiring an additional 100,559 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 5.4% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,533,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,588,000 after purchasing an additional 130,597 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ferguson from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $291.99 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $267.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights that Ferguson plc (FERG) has outpaced some industrial-products peers so far this year, reinforcing momentum from the company’s recent quarterly beat and revenue growth — a likely contributor to buying interest. Is Ferguson plc (FERG) Outperforming Other Industrial Products Stocks This Year?
• Neutral Sentiment: Local news: the city of Ferguson (Missouri) reports a downward crime trend — unrelated to Ferguson plc’s plumbing & HVAC distribution business and unlikely to affect the stock. Ferguson facing downward trend in crime: Mayor
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple media reports cover revelations about Sarah Ferguson and related charity/epstein coverage; these are reputational/celebrity stories and do not pertain to Ferguson plc’s operations. Representative coverage: Key revelations about Sarah Ferguson in Epstein files, including suggesting a woman for him to marry
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional celebrity/royal and lifestyle pieces (mental-health, family reaction, email excerpts) concerning Sarah Ferguson appear widely; they are unrelated to the company’s fundamentals. Example: Princess Eugenie feels ‘very frustrated’ by parents Sarah Ferguson and ex-Prince Andrew’s antics
• Neutral Sentiment: Sports mentions of athletes named Ferguson (e.g., Terrance Ferguson) are unrelated to the company and should not affect FERG’s stock. Hurts heaves second TD toss to Ferguson
• Negative Sentiment: An AmericanBankingNews item presents a critical review of Ferguson (FERG) alongside other names, highlighting risks investors should consider (valuation, cyclical exposure and/or operational headwinds cited). This piece may introduce caution among some investors. ZJK Industrial (NASDAQ:ZJK) and Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Critical Review

Ferguson Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of FERG opened at $260.97 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $239.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.85. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $262.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.18.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.07. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 6.28%.The company had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.96%.

Ferguson Company 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.