Cerity Partners LLC Takes $286,000 Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Ferguson by 146.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in Ferguson by 2,291.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 287 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $213.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $134.55 and a 1 year high of $224.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $212.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.27.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James lowered Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.50.

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.