Swiss National Bank Buys 37,900 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 601,847 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $131,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FERG. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 101.1% in the 1st 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted 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 worth $713,740,000 after buying an additional 1,755,464 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 769.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,266,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,004,000 after buying an additional 1,121,249 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,576,000 after buying an additional 827,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Vertical Research began coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.75.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total value of $710,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,940.67. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Stock Up 2.0%

FERG opened at $236.43 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. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $256.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. 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.