Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 84.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,258 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,394 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% during the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted 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. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $213.27 on Thursday. 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 $42.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.52. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $166.21 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % 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 three months. Company 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.