Vise Technologies Inc. Acquires New Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Ferguson by 132.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 68.3% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 6,361 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.6% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 147,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 45.2% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 110.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 5,136 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research raised Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.1%

FERG opened at $254.27 on Wednesday. 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 $255.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total value of $710,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $523,940.67. This represents a 57.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.70, for a total value of $240,611.80. Following 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 is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.