Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Boosts Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 1.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,887 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $469,730,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 208.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,287 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $239,539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG opened at $211.56 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $42.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 41.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.93.

Ferguson Company 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.