Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Sold by C WorldWide Group Holding A S

C WorldWide Group Holding A S lessened its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 75.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 405,601 shares during the quarter. Ferguson accounts for 0.5% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $28,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 178.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Ferguson by 154.4% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ferguson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.73.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $241.47 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $170.23 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $46.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.09.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.92% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 40.36%.

Key Ferguson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several entertainment stories allege that Sarah Ferguson had a past relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs, but these reports are unrelated to Ferguson plc’s business and are unlikely to be a direct stock catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional articles repeat the same royal-biography claims and author comments, creating more news flow around the “Ferguson” name without tying back to the company’s fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Political and ethics headlines involving officials named Ferguson also appear in the news feed, but they do not relate to Ferguson plc and should have limited direct impact on the stock.

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.