Cresset Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cresset Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,158 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,657 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ferguson by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,120 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,082,000 after acquiring an additional 18,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Ferguson by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,814,000 after acquiring an additional 192,052 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FERG. Zelman & Associates lowered Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.38.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.1%

FERG stock opened at $171.24 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $34.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $163.79 and its 200 day moving average is $179.98.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.84%.

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.