Ascent Group LLC Purchases 475 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,568 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 174.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 233,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,952,000 after purchasing an additional 148,415 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,723,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $603,000. Finally, Saturna Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 621.7% in the first quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 145,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,759,000 after buying an additional 125,250 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.00.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of FERG stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $218.26. 847,651 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,139,231. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.22. The stock has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 1.22. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $147.62 and a 12 month high of $224.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

Ferguson Company 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.