American Trust Sells 95 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

American Trust cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG – Get Rating) by 4.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 11.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 40,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,171,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 8.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Research Inc. lifted its position in Ferguson by 21.2% during the third quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 123,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,763,000 after acquiring an additional 21,688 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 159.8% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 154,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,890,000 after acquiring an additional 94,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $274,000. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $128.37 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.96. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $99.16 and a 52-week high of $150.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on FERG. Bank of America cut shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, December 1st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from GBX 9,960 ($121.39) to GBX 9,630 ($117.37) in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8,448.82.

Ferguson Profile

(Get Rating)

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.