Richard Winckler Sells 1,325 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $205.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 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 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ferguson by 2,462.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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. Barclays lifted 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 upped their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.29.

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.