Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 684,277 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,460 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.34% of Ferguson worth $109,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 3,559 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $843,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,251,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,549,000 after buying an additional 148,891 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of FERG stock opened at $222.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $228.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $219.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.64.

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.