Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 2,706,153 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,706,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,730,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ferguson by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,409,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,858,000 after acquiring an additional 133,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,523,000 after acquiring an additional 415,002 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.67.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $160.63 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $173.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.71. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $152.52 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.84%.

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.