3,402 Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Acquired by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ferguson by 589.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after buying an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,510,000 after acquiring an additional 79,152 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after acquiring an additional 15,700 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $208.92 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $166.21 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $41.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.84.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. Ferguson’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

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.