Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 919,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 220,168 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.48% of Ferguson worth $218,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after purchasing an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of FERG stock opened at $228.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.63. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $207.64 and a 1-year high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.93.

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.