Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target Lowered to $189.00 at Citigroup

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $221.00 to $189.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.40.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $172.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson has a 12 month low of $170.93 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $195.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.86%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. The trade was a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,462,000 after acquiring an additional 288,935 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Ferguson by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,409,000 after purchasing an additional 25,677 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,858,000 after purchasing an additional 133,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ferguson by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Company 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.