Blue Trust Inc. Sells 219 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 28.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,247,000 after purchasing an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $587,000. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 106,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,398,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 19,616.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 573,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,835,000 after purchasing an additional 570,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolf Group Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $261,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $219.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.85 and its 200 day moving average is $178.32.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on FERG shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.27.

About Ferguson

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.