Polen Capital Management LLC Makes New $215,000 Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Polen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 906.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $162.58 on Tuesday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $152.52 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.70. 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 company has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.84%.

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.