HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.57 Million Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 30.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,919 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,071,408,000 after buying an additional 806,718 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Ferguson by 24.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,660,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,410,000 after buying an additional 1,506,024 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 13.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after buying an additional 827,355 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,746,000 after buying an additional 62,887 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ferguson by 29.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,635,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,452,000 after buying an additional 831,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $233.2480 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $45.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $238.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.14.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.64.

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.