Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $1.67 Billion Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,312 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 3.90% of Ferguson worth $1,673,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,071,408,000 after buying an additional 806,718 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after purchasing an additional 827,355 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 65.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 101.1% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Ferguson by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,635,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $582,452,000 after purchasing an additional 831,112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 4,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.22, for a total value of $1,134,382.08. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,886.18. This trade represents a 38.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total value of $700,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,720,741.52. This trade represents a 20.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on FERG shares. UBS Group increased 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.80.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $248.59 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $252.52. The company has a market capitalization of $48.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.81.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

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.