Marshall Wace LLP Sells 41,135 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 95.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,135 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FERG. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 1.9% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $198.09 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $147.62 and a one year high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $200.37 and a 200-day moving average of $205.87.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.54%.

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.