Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 245,014 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,775 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of Ferguson worth $48,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $199.84 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.19. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $163.03 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $40.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Ferguson

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.