Markel Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Markel Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 134,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $29,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 51.5% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.6% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 56.5% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 6.5% during the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $247.88 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $252.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total value of $710,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,940.67. This represents a 57.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.80.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.