PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 113.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,952 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,828 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ferguson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,152,000 after purchasing an additional 81,094 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,367,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,921,000 after buying an additional 112,157 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,786,000 after buying an additional 682,666 shares during the period. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,776,000 after buying an additional 100,559 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $226.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $177.75 and a one year high of $271.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $240.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 38.92%. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.73.

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.