Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 6,767 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,839 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,767 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $8,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FERG. CWM LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 303.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 14.5% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,493,000 after buying an additional 9,562 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $2,834,000. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at $5,016,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Ferguson by 53.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 319,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,953,000 after acquiring an additional 111,357 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $210.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. 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 $154.61 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $198.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.36.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.50.

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.