Headlands Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Headlands Technologies LLC trimmed its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 21.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,188 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its holdings in Ferguson by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.1 %

FERG opened at $160.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $173.52 and a 200 day moving average of $187.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $152.52 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released 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). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Zelman & Associates cut shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.67.

About Ferguson

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.