Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,082 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,893 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $22,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,071,408,000 after purchasing an additional 806,718 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,977,000 after purchasing an additional 27,312 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after buying an additional 827,355 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ferguson by 65.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 101.1% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,498,000 after buying an additional 2,094,029 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider Allison Stirrup sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total value of $226,968.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,184,735.34. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $242.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.73. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $256.93. The firm has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Profile

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.