Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $195.39 Million Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 877,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,371 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $195,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 178.3% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 154.4% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $34,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.3%

FERG opened at $257.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $50.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.84. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $158.68 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.25). Ferguson had a return on equity of 40.37% and a net margin of 6.93%.Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 35.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.27.

Ferguson Profile

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.