Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Takes $10.43 Million Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 46,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,426,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,152,000 after purchasing an additional 81,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,367,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,921,000 after purchasing an additional 112,157 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,786,000 after purchasing an additional 682,666 shares during the period. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,776,000 after purchasing an additional 100,559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.73.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $225.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.15. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $177.75 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.00.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.40%.

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.