Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 31.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 919,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220,168 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $218,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 123.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FERG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.93.

Ferguson Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $228.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $236.93 and a 200 day moving average of $239.63. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $207.64 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.83%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.