Strs Ohio Reduces Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Strs Ohio decreased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 31.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,767 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,046,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,327,000 after purchasing an additional 191,587 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,247,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,094,000 after purchasing an additional 196,489 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $610,247,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.8% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,416,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,486,000 after acquiring an additional 123,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 9.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,642,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,394,000 after buying an additional 235,236 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James cut Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $208.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $133.10 and a 52-week high of $224.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.11.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

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.