Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Purchased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 2.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 84,456 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $18,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 101.1% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,498,000 after buying an additional 2,094,029 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Ferguson by 65.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,464 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Ferguson by 769.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,266,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,249 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 13.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after acquiring an additional 827,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,408,000 after purchasing an additional 806,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. 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 for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 52,631 shares in the company, valued at $12,279,864.92. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Allison Stirrup sold 969 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total value of $226,968.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,058 shares in the company, valued at $1,184,735.34. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.3%

FERG opened at $236.34 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $256.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $236.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

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 return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

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.