Bank of America Corp DE Increases Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 43.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,029,896 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 312,756 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $240,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at $310,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 22.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $249.98 on Tuesday. 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 plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $231.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective 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, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.21.

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.