RNC Capital Management LLC Has $4.38 Million Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

RNC Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 303.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $970,000. Clean Yield Group increased its stake in 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. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 66.2% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after acquiring an additional 20,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $182.08 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $167.27 and a 1-year high of $225.63.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 39.86%.

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.