Private Trust Co. NA Decreases Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Private Trust Co. NA lessened its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $27,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $9,966,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 34,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,778,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 31,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,227,000 after buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,249,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 176.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,015,000 after acquiring an additional 6,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.2 %

FERG stock opened at $215.93 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $167.09 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $201.96 and its 200 day moving average is $202.64. The company has a market capitalization of $43.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 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 (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

About Ferguson

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.