Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 3,617 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,504,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,617 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $557,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ferguson by 1.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after purchasing an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Ferguson by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,786,000 after purchasing an additional 682,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Ferguson by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,776,000 after purchasing an additional 100,559 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $230.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.15. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.99 and a 200-day moving average of $241.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FERG. Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.77.

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.