Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Purchases 674 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,931 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 538.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 2,462.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $205.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $147.62 and a one year high of $225.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

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.