Fred Alger Management LLC Buys 9,341 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,861 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,341 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $17,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 80.1% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,166,000 after acquiring an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ferguson by 14.5% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,493,000 after buying an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at $2,834,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 60,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,663,000 after buying an additional 10,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth about $5,016,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.8 %

FERG stock opened at $199.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.21. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $147.62 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $204.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.84.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.03% and a net margin of 5.85%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.