Man Group plc Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Man Group plc grew its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERGFree Report) by 613.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 401,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345,165 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.21% of Ferguson worth $95,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth about $1,789,368,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 427,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,419,000 after buying an additional 191,609 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,397,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Ferguson by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 96,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,932,000 after buying an additional 11,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sone Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 119,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,313,000 after buying an additional 18,965 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $232.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.04. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERGGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 41.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $261.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.93.

View Our Latest Research Report on FERG

Ferguson Company 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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