Cantillon Capital Management LLC Sells 235,552 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,749,302 shares of the company’s stock after selling 235,552 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up about 2.7% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $408,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its holdings in Ferguson by 350,745.0% during the 4th quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,382,000 after buying an additional 522,610 shares in the last quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,017,000. Lmcg Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,806,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after acquiring an additional 14,644 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

NYSE:FERG opened at $231.39 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.39. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.21.

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.