Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,880 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ferguson worth $19,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 423.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7,632.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 677,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,626,000 after purchasing an additional 668,920 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 133.3% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,999,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 76.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,281,000 after purchasing an additional 377,283 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 910.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 366,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,529,000 after purchasing an additional 329,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.10.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $180.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $167.27 and a one year high of $225.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $189.28 and its 200-day moving average is $197.89. The firm has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.24.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 39.86%.

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.