Korea Investment CORP Reduces Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 128,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,917 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $22,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG stock opened at $160.63 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $152.52 and a one year high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.70.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.67.

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.