Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 22.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,500 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.07% of Ferguson worth $31,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at $988,852,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,371,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,905,000 after buying an additional 735,270 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,872,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,594,000 after buying an additional 690,643 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at $89,758,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,052,000 after buying an additional 365,843 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.5 %

FERG opened at $189.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $147.62 and a one year high of $224.86. The company has a market cap of $38.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.11.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FERG. Barclays reduced their price target on Ferguson from $236.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.50.

Ferguson 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.