Truist Financial Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,171,708 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,380 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $226,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 2.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,247,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,094,000 after buying an additional 196,489 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ferguson by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,693,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,524,000 after purchasing an additional 99,758 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,636,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,144,000 after purchasing an additional 760,800 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 922,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,648,000 after buying an additional 22,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 41.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 891,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,631,000 after buying an additional 259,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ FERG traded up $0.50 on Friday, reaching $213.33. 944,431 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,137,418. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $134.55 and a fifty-two week high of $224.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $212.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.42.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 36.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James lowered Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.50.

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.