Ferguson plc $FERG Stock Position Decreased by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERGFree Report) by 13.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,266 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,905 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 350,745.0% during the 4th quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,382,000 after purchasing an additional 522,610 shares in the last quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 53.4% in the third quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP now owns 349,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,378,000 after purchasing an additional 121,500 shares in the last quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $11,017,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Ferguson by 68.0% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 82,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,454,000 after buying an additional 33,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $891,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.61.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on FERG

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $3.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.85. 1,257,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,090. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $207.64 and a 52 week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERGGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson Profile

(Free Report)

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Ferguson (NYSE:FERG)

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