William Thees, Jr. Sells 2,308 Shares of Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) SVP William Thees, Jr. sold 2,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.55, for a total value of $541,341.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,964,727.70. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ferguson Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $235.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $230.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $243.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FERG. UBS Group upped their target price on Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ferguson

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.