Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 115,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149,161 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Ferguson worth $22,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter worth approximately $2,834,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Ferguson by 66.2% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 380.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,309,000 after buying an additional 126,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,528,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.3 %

FERG stock opened at $216.01 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $201.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.66. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $167.09 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

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.