Private Advisor Group LLC Takes Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,621,000 after buying an additional 434,650 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,567,000 after buying an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after buying an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NYSE FERG opened at $230.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.13. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $230.80 and a 200 day moving average of $240.32.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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 shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.61.

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.