Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,981 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,657 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $53,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,046,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,327,000 after acquiring an additional 191,587 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,247,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,094,000 after acquiring an additional 196,489 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $610,247,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,416,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,486,000 after acquiring an additional 123,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ferguson by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,642,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,394,000 after buying an additional 235,236 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James downgraded Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $215.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $43.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.10. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $130.75 and a fifty-two week high of $224.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

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.