Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,073 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $263,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 83.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 17,777 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $411,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 161.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,222,000 after purchasing an additional 60,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 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 FERG traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $208.28. 633,600 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,077,854. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $143.39 and a 1 year high of $224.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $215.73 and its 200-day moving average is $197.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $42.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

About Ferguson

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.