Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 8,171 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 11.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 62,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,171 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $12,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $104,723,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $89,758,000. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $61,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $201.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $147.62 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $203.83 and a 200 day moving average of $206.85. The stock has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FERG. Citigroup upped their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

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.