Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 17,205 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 72.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,205 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FERG. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,120 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,746,000 after purchasing an additional 62,887 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 944.4% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,082,000 after buying an additional 18,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.93.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $211.56 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

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.