Natixis Advisors L.P. Buys 13,839 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,370 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,839 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of Ferguson worth $34,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,745,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7,751.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 306,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,197,000 after purchasing an additional 302,702 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,650,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at $53,192,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 891,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,631,000 after buying an additional 259,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $217.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.12 and a fifty-two week high of $224.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.02.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James downgraded Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.50.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.