Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Purchases 115,239 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 560,926 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,239 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $111,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after buying an additional 288,935 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after acquiring an additional 153,757 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ferguson by 5.9% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,510,000 after purchasing an additional 79,152 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $216.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $167.09 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $201.57 and a 200 day moving average of $202.66.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

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.