Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Kevin Michael Murphy Sells 11,259 Shares of Company Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 11,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $2,440,726.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 173,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,690,021.14. The trade was a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $222.95 on Thursday. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $212.13 and a 52-week high of $271.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $229.04 and a 200-day moving average of $234.52. 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 (NYSE:FERG) last released its 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 company 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position 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 valued at $1,100,474,000 after acquiring an additional 48,544 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,809,000 after purchasing an additional 240,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 16,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price 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 issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.78.

Trending Headlines about Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Six insiders collectively sold 27,327 shares worth approximately $6.0 million on October 12. The sellers included CFO William Brundage, COO William Thees Jr., VP Anthony Camposano and other insiders. Each retained a meaningful position in Ferguson following the transactions. SEC insider transaction filings
• Negative Sentiment: The volume of sales across multiple insiders may create modest near-term pressure on investor sentiment, particularly because individual holdings declined by roughly 6% to 25%. However, the pre-arranged nature of the plans suggests the sales were scheduled rather than necessarily driven by concerns about Ferguson’s business or valuation. SEC insider sale filing

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.