Highland Capital Management LLC Has $1.81 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,350 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. BayBridge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 60.0% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $3.93 on Monday, reaching $218.26. 14,821 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,109,851. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.66 and its 200-day moving average is $207.48. The firm has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $147.62 and a one year high of $225.63.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 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.