Tidal Investments LLC Sells 244 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Tidal Investments LLC cut its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Ferguson by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,230,000 after acquiring an additional 161,662 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,409,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. The trade was a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts 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. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.44.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $178.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $202.08 and a 200-day moving average of $201.47. The company has a market cap of $35.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. 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 52 week low of $172.00 and a 52 week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.85%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 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.