Jennison Associates LLC Acquires New Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 276,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,192,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 17,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 146.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.50.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $211.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $211.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.78. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $133.79 and a 12-month high of $224.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 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.