Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 264 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,093 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $12,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after buying an additional 5,534 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.67.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.4 %

Ferguson stock opened at $160.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $152.52 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced 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). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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