Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Purchased by Boston Partners

Boston Partners boosted its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 27.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,445 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Untitled Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,953,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,932,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,718,000 after purchasing an additional 205,531 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 96.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,687,000 after buying an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in Ferguson by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 3,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $843,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $288.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.75.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $242.38 on Friday. 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 $47.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.81. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $256.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total value of $700,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,720,741.52. This trade represents a 20.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.