Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Bought by Applied Capital LLC FL

Applied Capital LLC FL increased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,275 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $988,852,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,714,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,014,000 after purchasing an additional 118,894 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,371,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,905,000 after purchasing an additional 735,270 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,872,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,594,000 after purchasing an additional 690,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,052,000 after purchasing an additional 365,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ferguson from $236.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.50.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.2 %

Ferguson stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $190.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 826,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,015. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.22. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $147.62 and a 1 year high of $224.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $206.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

About Ferguson

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.