Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Jake Schlicher Sells 217 Shares of Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) insider Jake Schlicher sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.63, for a total transaction of $47,876.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,180 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,383.40. This trade represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Jake Schlicher also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 15th, Jake Schlicher sold 314 shares of Ferguson stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total value of $70,493.00.
• On Monday, October 12th, Jake Schlicher sold 3,138 shares of Ferguson stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value of $686,406.12.
• On Friday, August 28th, Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of Ferguson stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE FERG traded up $2.66 on Friday, reaching $231.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,143,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,344. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $212.13 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $228.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.52. The company has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,075,000 after buying an additional 125,317 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,619,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,474,000 after buying an additional 48,544 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,809,000 after buying an additional 240,666 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,055,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,796,000 after buying an additional 16,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Ferguson News

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.