Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Sold by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 704,340 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106,553 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $156,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 327,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,847,000 after buying an additional 14,286 shares during the last quarter. Storgate LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $332,000. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 9,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 143,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,043,000 after buying an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 319,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,033,000 after buying an additional 10,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.77.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of FERG stock opened at $230.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.08. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a market capitalization of $44.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.