Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) CMO Victoria Morrissey Sells 1,468 Shares

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG traded up $2.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $202.81. 1,587,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,266,257. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.30. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ferguson by 589.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ferguson by 10.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after acquiring an additional 153,757 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its stake in Ferguson by 1.4% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after acquiring an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 967,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,424,000 after purchasing an additional 18,504 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.29.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.