Fred Alger Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,549 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,688 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $35,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after buying an additional 1,183,143 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,420,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Ferguson by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,293,000 after acquiring an additional 308,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after acquiring an additional 288,935 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $216.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $201.57 and a 200-day moving average of $202.66. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $167.09 and a 1-year high of $225.63.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.