Cwm LLC Raises Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cwm LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 758 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,745,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 7,751.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 306,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,197,000 after purchasing an additional 302,702 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $46,650,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 891,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,631,000 after purchasing an additional 259,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,247,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,094,000 after buying an additional 196,489 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James cut Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $217.17 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $137.12 and a twelve month high of $224.86. The stock has a market cap of $44.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $213.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.40.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.74%.

Ferguson Company 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.