Vontobel Holding Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,533,124 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 130,597 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises about 1.8% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 1.28% of Ferguson worth $551,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,408,000 after acquiring an additional 806,718 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Ferguson by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,660,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,410,000 after buying an additional 1,506,024 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after buying an additional 827,355 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 65.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 101.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094,029 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $234.69 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $228.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $243.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.71.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.