QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,893 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,341,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,211,692,000 after buying an additional 173,128 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,977,000 after acquiring an additional 27,312 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,493 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,776,000 after purchasing an additional 100,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Ferguson by 5.4% in the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,533,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,588,000 after purchasing an additional 130,597 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $248.81 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $256.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $237.00 and its 200 day moving average is $233.08. The company has a market capitalization of $48.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88.

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

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.96%.

Ferguson Company 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.