Atria Investments Inc Raises Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 38.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,401 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at $395,401,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,493 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth about $130,650,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Ferguson by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 759,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,422,000 after acquiring an additional 358,853 shares during the period. Finally, C WorldWide Group Holding A S lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 108.8% during the third quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 535,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,232,000 after purchasing an additional 278,971 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $267.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.9%

Ferguson stock opened at $261.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The stock has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $240.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.77.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.17 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 6.28%.Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.96%.

About Ferguson

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.