CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Reduces Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lowered its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,158 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 80.1% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,166,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Ferguson by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 542,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,318,000 after purchasing an additional 29,396 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 14.5% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,493,000 after purchasing an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 60,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,663,000 after buying an additional 10,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth about $732,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $198.46. 803,431 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,136,888. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $147.62 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.08. The company has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 1.22.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued 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 1.59%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

About Ferguson

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.