Fiera Capital Corp Buys 2,267 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,541 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 57.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 11,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,094 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the period. M&G PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 225,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $776,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FERG. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $207.46 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $198.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $156.23 and a 1-year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced 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 return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.52%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Company 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.