American Century Companies Inc. Sells 354,255 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 694,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 354,255 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $134,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter valued at $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter valued at $47,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted 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 valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.00.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $193.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.21. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.15. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $147.62 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.