Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Bought by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp grew its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,805 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,731 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp owned 0.12% of Ferguson worth $56,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its stake in Ferguson by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 180,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,209,000 after acquiring an additional 6,611 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 3.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,638,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at about $365,000. AlTi Global Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at about $700,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,751,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,534,000 after purchasing an additional 11,533 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $226.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $43.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.13. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64.

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

Ferguson declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.21.

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.