Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 36,106 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,106 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.06% of Ferguson worth $19,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 906.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FERG. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $163.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.89. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $152.52 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

About Ferguson

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.