Engineers Gate Manager LP Sells 45,733 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Engineers Gate Manager LP trimmed its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 64.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,733 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $6,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its stake in Ferguson by 350,745.0% in the fourth quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,382,000 after acquiring an additional 522,610 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 88.5% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 13,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,229,000 after purchasing an additional 6,389 shares during the period. Marsico Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth $11,017,000. Lmcg Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at $1,806,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.2% during the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 96,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,932,000 after buying an additional 11,196 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,191,430.80. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $222.75 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The company has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.83%.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing and heating products, water and wastewater solutions, fire protection equipment, HVAC supplies, and related products. The company primarily serves professional contractors and other trade customers, helping them source products, obtain technical support, and manage projects through its distribution network and digital platforms.

Ferguson operates mainly in North America, with businesses serving residential and commercial construction, infrastructure, facilities maintenance, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada.