Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $631,000 Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 985.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,635 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 906.7% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on FERG shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zelman & Associates cut Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of FERG opened at $160.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $173.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $152.52 and a 12 month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during 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%. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

Ferguson Profile

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.