D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 906.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $39,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Stock Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $171.84 on Tuesday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $167.27 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.87.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.