Fiduciary Family Office LLC Buys Shares of 3,794 Ferguson plc $FERG

Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth about $395,401,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 39.3% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,493 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter worth about $130,650,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 89.5% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 759,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,422,000 after purchasing an additional 358,853 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 693.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 296,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,543,000 after buying an additional 259,063 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Ferguson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of FERG opened at $248.81 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $256.93. The firm has a market cap of $48.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $237.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.07. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 6.28%.The business had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 35.96%.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.