Nordea Investment Management AB Raises Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 68.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,783 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 97,791 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $52,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Ferguson by 51.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Ferguson by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $237.02 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $243.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.17. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $230.41.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on FERG shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 8,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.13, for a total value of $2,060,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 159,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,444,645.03. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ferguson

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.