Great Lakes Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 63.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,309 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,409,000 after purchasing an additional 25,677 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,858,000 after acquiring an additional 133,769 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,523,000 after acquiring an additional 415,002 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $159.82 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. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $152.52 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.10.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

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.