Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $6.81 Million Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,192 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Ferguson were worth $6,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,152,000 after buying an additional 81,094 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,367,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,921,000 after buying an additional 112,157 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 22.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,786,000 after buying an additional 682,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,776,000 after buying an additional 100,559 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $229.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $44.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $177.75 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $240.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.35.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.73.

About Ferguson

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.