UBS Group AG Boosts Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 104.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,015 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,820 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.10% of Ferguson worth $41,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $732,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $988,852,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,371,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,905,000 after purchasing an additional 735,270 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Financial Co increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 6,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $208.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.59. The firm has a market cap of $42.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $143.39 and a 12-month high of $224.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

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.