Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Invests $6.63 Million in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,633,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $208.73 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $159.20 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FERG. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

Ferguson 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.