Waverton Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,011,334 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132,626 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up approximately 2.8% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned 0.51% of Ferguson worth $175,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at $408,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,873,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $16,761,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 415,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Ferguson by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 267,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,369,000 after purchasing an additional 36,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FERG. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.73.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $175.90 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.05. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $167.27 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The company has a market capitalization of $35.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 39.86%.

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.