Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,154,275 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,026 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,068,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Ferguson by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,011,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,537,000 after purchasing an additional 132,626 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth $408,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $6,873,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $16,761,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 415,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FERG. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $171.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.87. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $167.27 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.