Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,091 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the quarter. Ferguson accounts for about 1.9% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 5.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 752 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 17,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.1 %

Ferguson stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $219.20. The company had a trading volume of 145,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,999. The firm has a market cap of $44.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $123.17 and a 12-month high of $222.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $201.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.71.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.50.

About Ferguson

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.