Brown Advisory Inc. Invests $448,000 in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Feb 24th, 2023

Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Ferguson by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,669,000 after buying an additional 3,570 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,046,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,327,000 after buying an additional 191,587 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 100.4% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 31.4% in the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 161,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,630,000 after acquiring an additional 38,584 shares in the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from GBX 9,500 ($114.40) to GBX 9,890 ($119.10) in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Ferguson from £114 ($137.28) to £128 ($154.14) in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Ferguson from GBX 9,960 ($119.94) to GBX 9,630 ($115.97) in a report on Monday, December 5th. Bank of America cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $148.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8,448.82.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $144.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $137.72 and its 200 day moving average is $123.32. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $99.16 and a 1 year high of $168.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 6th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.13. Ferguson had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 45.99%. The company had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.65 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 16th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 15th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

About Ferguson

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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.