Robeco Schweiz AG Sells 35,186 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Robeco Schweiz AG decreased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 240,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,186 shares during the quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG owned about 0.12% of Ferguson worth $53,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,789,368,000. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 613.8% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 401,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,263,000 after acquiring an additional 345,165 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 43.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,029,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,234,000 after acquiring an additional 312,756 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 9.2% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,809,000 after acquiring an additional 240,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 31.5% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 919,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,130,000 after acquiring an additional 220,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FERG opened at $226.99 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $212.13 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $43.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $225.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.31.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 41.83%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, COO William Thees, Jr. sold 3,510 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,600. This represents a 9.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO William Brundage sold 5,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total transaction of $1,309,377.64. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,808 shares of company stock worth $8,571,587. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $252.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.28.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.