Axa S.A. Increases Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Axa S.A. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,383 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $6,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 538.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2,462.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.4 %

FERG stock opened at $201.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $203.83 and a 200 day moving average of $206.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 37.03%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.