Drive Wealth Management LLC Invests $203,000 in Ferguson plc $FERG

Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth $2,189,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth $932,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.80.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.1%

FERG stock opened at $244.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $47.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $246.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $231.19.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during 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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 4,864 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.22, for a total transaction of $1,134,382.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,886.18. The trade was a 38.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,279,864.92. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.