Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $23.51 Million Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 104,685 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $23,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,341,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,211,692,000 after purchasing an additional 173,128 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Ferguson by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,977,000 after acquiring an additional 27,312 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 39.3% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,493 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,776,000 after acquiring an additional 100,559 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,533,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,588,000 after purchasing an additional 130,597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Vertical Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $254.45 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.21. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $256.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.17 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 35.96%.

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.