Lmcg Investments LLC Invests $1.81 Million in Ferguson plc $FERG

Lmcg Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,806,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 350,745.0% in the fourth quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,382,000 after acquiring an additional 522,610 shares in the last quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 53.4% in the third quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP now owns 349,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,378,000 after acquiring an additional 121,500 shares during the last quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $11,017,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 68.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 82,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,454,000 after purchasing an additional 33,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth about $891,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.61.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $221.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $233.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.29.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released 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. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ferguson

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.