J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys New Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 54,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,757,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ferguson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,621,000 after acquiring an additional 434,650 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after acquiring an additional 79,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE FERG opened at $227.85 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.28 and a 200 day moving average of $240.25.

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

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.61.

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.