James Hambro & Partners LLP Buys New Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

James Hambro & Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,254,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter valued at $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2,462.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at about $105,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.29.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG traded down $4.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $200.24. 587,107 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,262,376. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 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. The company has a market capitalization of $40.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.02.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.15% 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.