Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 944.4% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,082,000 after buying an additional 18,036 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,814,000 after acquiring an additional 192,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $469,730,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $155.22 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $149.28 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $171.69 and its 200-day moving average is $186.61.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 note on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Five 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.62.

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.