Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Has $955,000 Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning cut its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 34.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,269 shares during the quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FERG. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 19.4% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 14.7% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,631,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 566.3% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $6,416,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 16.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 123,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,267,000 after purchasing an additional 17,730 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $236.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.50.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.5 %

FERG stock opened at $189.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $147.62 and a 52-week high of $224.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $206.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.22.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.54%.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.