Sava Infond d.o.o. Takes $121,000 Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,247,000 after purchasing an additional 52,776 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its holdings in Ferguson by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $163.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $32.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $152.52 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.89.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 40.84%.

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.