FDx Advisors Inc. Sells 982 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

FDx Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 982 shares during the quarter. FDx Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,523,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Ferguson by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 2,628 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth about $253,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth about $623,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $179.42 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $178.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.24. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $167.27 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $35.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.86%.

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.