Sei Investments Co. Has $47.72 Million Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Sei Investments Co. lowered its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 274,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,659 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $47,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Parnassus Investments LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% in 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 worth $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 339.9% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,234,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,320,000 after buying an additional 954,092 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 7,632.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 677,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,626,000 after acquiring an additional 668,920 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,523,000 after purchasing an additional 415,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.67.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $162.27 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.01 and its 200 day moving average is $188.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $152.52 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its 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). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. 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.