Cantillon Capital Management LLC Sells 21,670 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Cantillon Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,969,891 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,670 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up approximately 2.4% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.01% of Ferguson worth $442,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at $395,401,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,201,493 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at $130,650,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Ferguson by 89.5% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 759,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,422,000 after buying an additional 358,853 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Ferguson by 693.6% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 296,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,543,000 after buying an additional 259,063 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.0%

FERG opened at $251.93 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $256.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.63. The company has a market cap of $49.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.96%.

Ferguson Company 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.