Cantillon Capital Management LLC Has $366.52 Million Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 415,002 shares during the quarter. Ferguson accounts for 2.2% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $366,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 7,862 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at about $970,000. Clean Yield Group boosted its position in Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after buying an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson by 79.6% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 646,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,217,000 after buying an additional 286,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in Ferguson by 66.2% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after buying an additional 20,580 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.73.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.3 %

FERG opened at $177.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $35.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.26. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $167.27 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 39.86%.

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.