Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp lessened its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,006,342 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,328 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.50% of Ferguson worth $194,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BayBridge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Barclays boosted their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $198.62 on Tuesday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $147.62 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.81. The company has a market cap of $39.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 37.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.