First Pacific Advisors LP Increases Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

First Pacific Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,102,740 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,183 shares during the period. Ferguson comprises approximately 2.7% of First Pacific Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. First Pacific Advisors LP owned about 0.55% of Ferguson worth $191,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after acquiring an additional 288,935 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,409,000 after purchasing an additional 25,677 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 6.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,858,000 after purchasing an additional 133,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,523,000 after purchasing an additional 415,002 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.73.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.7 %

Ferguson stock opened at $168.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $163.01 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $177.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.81.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.86%.

Ferguson 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.