Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $914,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $203.22 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $199.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.29. The company has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $163.03 and a 12 month high of $225.63.

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 firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.