Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 65,504 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 402.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,792 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 65,504 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up about 0.4% of Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $17,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 23.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 25.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 24.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 121.6% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 8,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,631 shares in the company, valued at $12,279,864.92. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.70, for a total value of $240,611.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,276.60. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.80.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $249.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $232.09. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $251.15.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.55%.

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.