Peterson Financial Group Inc. Buys New Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 33.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on FERG shares. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment 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, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,246. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $199.94 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 company has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.14. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $163.03 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. 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 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.