Fisher Funds Management LTD Buys Shares of 96,532 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 96,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,761,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 906.7% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on FERG shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $175.90 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $35.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $167.27 and a twelve month high of $225.63.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.86%.

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.