BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Raises Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 334,692 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,148 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Ferguson worth $66,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. The trade was a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 56.99 % 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FERG shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.2 %

FERG stock opened at $215.93 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $167.09 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $43.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

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.