Ferguson plc $FERG Stake Increased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 30.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,869 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,462 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $9,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 350,745.0% during the 4th quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,382,000 after acquiring an additional 522,610 shares during the last quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $11,017,000. Lmcg Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,806,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $891,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,898,000 after acquiring an additional 14,644 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.21.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of FERG stock opened at $231.39 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $230.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.30.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson Profile

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.