National Pension Service Has $80.08 Million Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

National Pension Service raised its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 337,408 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,849 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $80,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 23,684.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,745,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,552,777,000 after buying an additional 69,452,584 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after purchasing an additional 125,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Ferguson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after purchasing an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on FERG. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $261.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.57.

Ferguson Price Performance

NYSE:FERG opened at $222.75 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $207.64 and a 52-week high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.03.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.83%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,191,430.80. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing and heating products, water and wastewater solutions, fire protection equipment, HVAC supplies, and related products. The company primarily serves professional contractors and other trade customers, helping them source products, obtain technical support, and manage projects through its distribution network and digital platforms.

Ferguson operates mainly in North America, with businesses serving residential and commercial construction, infrastructure, facilities maintenance, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada.