Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes $2.34 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,341,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings 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 worth $353,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ferguson by 10.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after acquiring an additional 153,757 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.4% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,846,000 after purchasing an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 967,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,424,000 after purchasing an additional 18,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FERG. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.50.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $196.16 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $147.62 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 34.54%.

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.