Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires New Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 18.1% in the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 45,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,878,000 after purchasing an additional 6,961 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,830,000 after buying an additional 1,201,493 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,546,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,879,000 after buying an additional 148,660 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 168.6% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 72,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,833,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FERG. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Price Performance

NYSE FERG opened at $236.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $256.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 35.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.33, for a total transaction of $145,033.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,846,191.62. This represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Allison Stirrup sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total transaction of $226,968.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,184,735.34. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Ferguson

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.