Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Purchased by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 4.22% of Ferguson worth $1,668,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.0% in the second quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% in the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 33.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. This represents a 49.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $212.51 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $166.21 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

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.