Empowered Funds LLC Sells 16,558 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,558 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,462,000 after acquiring an additional 288,935 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,230,000 after acquiring an additional 161,662 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,409,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,858,000 after acquiring an additional 133,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 423.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG stock opened at $183.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $167.27 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.39.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 39.86%.

About Ferguson

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.