California Public Employees Retirement System Has $62.74 Million Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,875 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of Ferguson worth $62,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $160.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $173.08 and its 200-day moving average is $187.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $152.52 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on FERG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.62.

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.