Pathstone Holdings LLC Cuts Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Pathstone Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,363 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $9,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Ferguson by 375.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Ferguson by 61.0% in the second quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,293,000 after purchasing an additional 308,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $45,850,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $206.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $164.90 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $41.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.