Skye Global Management LP Purchases 112,000 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Skye Global Management LP increased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 116.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 208,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises approximately 0.8% of Skye Global Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Skye Global Management LP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $36,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after buying an additional 1,539,889 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,120 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,746,000 after acquiring an additional 62,887 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 944.4% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 18,036 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 3.9%

NASDAQ FERG opened at $181.89 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $164.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. 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 (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.74 EPS. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio 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.