1,205 Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Bought by Autumn Glory Partners LLC

Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Ferguson by 375.4% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Ferguson by 61.0% in the second quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,293,000 after acquiring an additional 308,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $57,489,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on FERG shares. 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.50.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $195.04 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $147.62 and a twelve month 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 50-day simple moving average of $199.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson 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 value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.