Railway Pension Investments Ltd Acquires 3,700 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 72.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,800 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $988,852,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,371,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,905,000 after purchasing an additional 735,270 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,872,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,594,000 after purchasing an additional 690,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth about $104,723,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of FERG traded down $10.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $205.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,322,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,909. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.76. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $147.62 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 34.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.00.

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.