Townsquare Capital LLC Purchases 210 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,409 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,420,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 728.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 63,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,707,000 after purchasing an additional 56,272 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,453,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $221.00 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $167.09 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $44.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.41.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

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.