14,145 Shares in Ferguson plc $FERG Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,080,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Ferguson by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ferguson by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total value of $700,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,720,741.52. This represents a 20.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 8,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.13, for a total value of $2,060,344.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 159,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,444,645.03. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.71.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.3%

Ferguson stock opened at $249.61 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $256.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $241.92. The company has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.55%.

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.