23,764 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG Bought by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,290,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.3% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.2% during the second quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 4.6% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natural Investments LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 6.9% during the second quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Trading Down 5.4%

NYSE FERG opened at $235.17 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $212.13 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $225.40 and a 200-day moving average of $237.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $45.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.11.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on FERG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $261.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Ferguson from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.44.

Ferguson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ferguson declared a dividend of $0.89 per share, payable January 8, 2027, to shareholders of record on November 20. That equates to $3.56 annualized and a yield of about 1.4%; the payout may offer some support, though it is unlikely to be a major catalyst on its own. Ferguson Declares Dividend

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 1,854 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value of $405,543.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,517,916.14. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kevin Murphy sold 11,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $2,440,726.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 173,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,690,021.14. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 38,808 shares of company stock valued at $8,571,587 in the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.