New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $31,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FERG. Untitled Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $5,953,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,932,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,718,000 after acquiring an additional 205,531 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 96.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,687,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the first quarter valued at about $843,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the first quarter valued at about $299,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Vertical Research started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.3%

Ferguson stock opened at $251.67 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $256.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $49.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $240.15.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th were paid 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 yield of 1.3%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total transaction of $700,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,720,741.52. This trade represents a 20.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 8,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.13, for a total value of $2,060,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 159,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,444,645.03. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.