American National Bank Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

American National Bank increased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 239.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the quarter. American National Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Ferguson by 174.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 104,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,137,000 after buying an additional 66,197 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,371,000. Finally, CI Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 242.0% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 1,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $195.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $209.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.29. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.23.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion for 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%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ferguson from $236.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.50.

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.