Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Purchased by MAI Capital Management

MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 168.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 325 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $71,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 101.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094,029 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ferguson by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,740,000 after buying an additional 1,755,464 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Ferguson by 769.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,266,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,004,000 after buying an additional 1,121,249 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Ferguson by 13.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,408,000 after buying an additional 806,718 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total transaction of $710,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at $523,940.67. This represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Vertical Research began coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $251.67 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $256.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $240.15.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for 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 Announces Dividend

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

Ferguson Company 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.