Ferguson plc $FERG Stock Purchased by CX Institutional

CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 12,555.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,449 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,161 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $8,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson in the second quarter valued at $1,789,368,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in Ferguson by 350,745.0% in the 4th quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,382,000 after buying an additional 522,610 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,621,000 after buying an additional 434,650 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 221.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 554,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,465,000 after buying an additional 382,080 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc grew its holdings in Ferguson by 613.8% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 401,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,263,000 after buying an additional 345,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:FERG traded up $1.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $223.32. 1,841,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,707,604. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $212.13 and a 12-month high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.66.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.83%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total transaction of $1,195,472.84. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,191,430.80. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.57.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a North American distributor of plumbing and heating products, supplying professional customers across the residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure markets. The company serves contractors, builders, remodelers, municipalities, industrial businesses and other trade professionals through branch locations, distribution centers and digital ordering platforms.

Its product offerings include plumbing supplies and fixtures, heating and cooling equipment, water and wastewater products, fire protection systems, waterworks materials, industrial piping and related maintenance, repair and operating supplies.