Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 51.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274 shares of the company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Untitled Investments LP acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth about $5,953,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 11.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,932,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,718,000 after purchasing an additional 205,531 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ferguson by 14.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 96.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,687,000 after buying an additional 14,338 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Ferguson by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after buying an additional 3,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.6%

FERG stock opened at $237.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.41. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $243.40. The firm has a market cap of $46.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. The company 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,631 shares in the company, valued at $12,279,864.92. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 606 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.33, for a total value of $145,033.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,846,191.62. The trade was a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Profile

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.