Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 247.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 166.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 259.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 291 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ferguson from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.27.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $221.31 on Thursday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $193.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.09. The stock has a market cap of $43.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. 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 (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

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.