Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) is Trian Fund Management L.P.’s 6th Largest Position

Trian Fund Management L.P. reduced its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,270,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 683,053 shares during the quarter. Ferguson accounts for 6.5% of Trian Fund Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Trian Fund Management L.P.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $252,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,834,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,379,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 66.2% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after acquiring an additional 20,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 380.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,309,000 after acquiring an additional 126,242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on FERG. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG traded up $2.59 on Wednesday, reaching $215.10. The company had a trading volume of 152,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,267,414. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $166.21 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.58.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.