HighTower Advisors LLC Has $3.98 Million Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,939 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,189 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,247,000 after acquiring an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $163.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $152.52 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FERG. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.67.

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.