Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Reduces Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 41.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 123.4% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.21.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $230.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.54. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.