Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Trims Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,629 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 60.0% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 146.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 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 a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.00.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of FERG traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $218.30. The company had a trading volume of 534,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,056. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $147.62 and a 1-year high of $224.86. The stock has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

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.