First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Makes New Investment in Ferguson plc $FERG

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Vega Investment Solutions boosted its position in Ferguson by 50.5% during the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Ferguson by 26.1% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 93.5% in the second quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ferguson’s most recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $285.78, well above recent trading levels, which may support investor confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to offer shareholder returns through its quarterly dividend, equivalent to $3.56 annually and a yield of approximately 1.6%. Ferguson also retains strong profitability, including a reported 37.24% return on equity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Ferguson executives and insiders reported stock sales during the week, including COO William Thees Jr., VP Anthony Camposano, Ian Graham, Jake Schlicher, Allison Stirrup and Kevin Murphy. The reported transactions involved thousands of shares and several million dollars in aggregate proceeds. Ferguson insider trading report
• Neutral Sentiment: All of the disclosed sales were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. That reduces their significance as a signal that management expects Ferguson’s business or valuation to weaken, particularly because the sellers retained substantial positions.
• Negative Sentiment: The concentration of insider selling could nevertheless create modest near-term pressure on sentiment and may limit the stock’s upside, especially with Ferguson trading below its 200-day moving average.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, CFO William Brundage sold 5,986 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value of $1,309,377.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,908 shares in the company, valued at $12,010,575.92. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO William Thees, Jr. sold 3,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $772,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,680 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,600. The trade was a 9.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 37,711 shares of company stock worth $8,319,277 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of FERG stock opened at $231.42 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $228.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.52. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $212.13 and a 1-year high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.78.

About Ferguson

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.