Vinva Investment Management Ltd Sells 642 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 642 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,137,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.67.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG opened at $162.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.75. 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 $32.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 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.