Legal & General Group Plc Sells 43,916 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,008,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,916 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.99% of Ferguson worth $387,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FERG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Ferguson by 538.1% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Ferguson by 2,462.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

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

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.03% and a net margin of 5.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FERG. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

About Ferguson

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.