Dudley & Shanley Inc. Acquires Shares of 109,375 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Dudley & Shanley Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 109,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,984,000. Ferguson accounts for 2.9% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth about $970,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 66.2% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 380.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,309,000 after buying an additional 126,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.67. 257,635 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 676,168. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $197.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.81. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $171.68 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.86%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, 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 approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.