Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 9.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,409,000 after buying an additional 25,677 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Ferguson by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,281,000 after acquiring an additional 377,283 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,570,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ferguson by 2.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 74,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,765,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 116.6% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 28,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.5 %

FERG stock opened at $187.47 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $183.63 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The company has a market capitalization of $37.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $203.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased 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. Barclays reduced their price target on Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.00.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.