30,784 Shares in Ferguson plc $FERG Bought by Sienna Gestion

Sienna Gestion bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $395,401,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,830,000 after buying an additional 1,201,493 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP grew its stake in Ferguson by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 2,600,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,958,000 after acquiring an additional 366,898 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Ferguson by 89.5% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 759,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,422,000 after acquiring an additional 358,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Ferguson by 30.8% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,465,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,902,000 after acquiring an additional 345,165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ferguson from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Ferguson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.62.

Ferguson Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of FERG opened at $230.52 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The company has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $248.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.25). Ferguson had a return on equity of 40.37% and a net margin of 6.93%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.96%.

Ferguson 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.