Cigna Investments Inc. New Has $411,000 Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cigna Investments Inc. New decreased its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Ferguson by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Ferguson by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $5,991,000. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 11.7% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 764,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,935,000 after acquiring an additional 80,248 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $198.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $198.83 and a 200-day moving average of $203.63. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $154.61 and a 12 month 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 capitalization of $39.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.05%.

Ferguson Profile

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.