Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases New Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after buying an additional 161,662 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,409,000 after buying an additional 25,677 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after acquiring an additional 153,757 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,246. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Up 2.0 %

FERG stock opened at $178.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.47. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $172.00 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.86%.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.