Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 1,851 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 33.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,851 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,740,049,000 after buying an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ferguson by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,935,000 after buying an additional 1,231,120 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,746,000 after buying an additional 62,887 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,082,000 after buying an additional 18,036 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.6%

Ferguson stock opened at $212.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Six 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.07.

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.