Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) is 2Xideas AG’s 10th Largest Position

2Xideas AG increased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 49.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,542 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,105 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up approximately 2.4% of 2Xideas AG’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. 2Xideas AG’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $17,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 valued at $486,814,000 after buying an additional 192,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $469,730,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.62.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $155.22 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $149.28 and a 12 month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.47.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued 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 net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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