Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,471,611 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,510 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up approximately 0.6% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.74% of Ferguson worth $255,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FERG. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after buying an additional 1,183,143 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 339.9% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,234,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,320,000 after buying an additional 954,092 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 7,632.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 677,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,626,000 after buying an additional 668,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,523,000 after acquiring an additional 415,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG opened at $164.72 on Thursday. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $152.52 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.23. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

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.