Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 30,505 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 227.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,911 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,505 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $7,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 205.0% during the 4th quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 50,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,814,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth about $11,929,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,471,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,428,000 after buying an additional 49,510 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $357,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $160.63 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $173.86 and a 200-day moving average of $187.70. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $152.52 and a 12 month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its 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). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.84%.

Ferguson 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.