Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $111.66 Million Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 497,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,258 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $111,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FERG. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 145.3% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in Ferguson by 51.5% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Ferguson by 230.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 61.3% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NYSE:FERG opened at $243.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $256.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $237.01 and a 200-day moving average of $232.48.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.07. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 6.28%.The firm had revenue of $8.17 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ferguson from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.31.

Trending Headlines about Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Gov. Bob Ferguson’s State of the State speech highlighting a proposed “millionaire’s tax,” a $3B infrastructure plan, and calls for action on housing, health and other state issues. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and video of Ferguson championing a “millionaire’s tax” during his address. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Local reporting on Ferguson pitching the millionaire’s tax and infrastructure proposals in his annual address. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional national coverage of the governor’s call for a millionaire’s tax and other policy priorities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Article summarizing what Gov. Bob Ferguson said and omitted in his State of the State. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting Ferguson’s remarks on ICE, vaccines and taxes during the address. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Governor Ferguson to support a bill regulating AI to detect self-harm searches — policy/tech news focused on public safety. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several lifestyle/royal-family items referencing Sarah Ferguson; unrelated to the company. Article Title

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.