Jennison Associates LLC Purchases New Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 276,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,192,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.14% of Ferguson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Ferguson by 1,038.5% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 7,976 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 93.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 597 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 15.9% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 54.5% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,743,000 after purchasing an additional 7,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 44.9% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 27,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 8,618 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy 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 $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $211.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $133.79 and a 52-week high of $224.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $211.22 and a 200-day moving average of $188.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 36.74%.

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.