Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Kevin Michael Murphy Sells 1,776 Shares of Company Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) insider Kevin Murphy sold 1,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total value of $398,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 168,440 shares in the company, valued at $37,814,780. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kevin Michael Murphy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, October 14th, Kevin Murphy sold 685 shares of Ferguson stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.63, for a total transaction of $151,131.55.
• On Monday, October 12th, Kevin Murphy sold 11,259 shares of Ferguson stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $2,440,726.02.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $2.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $231.74. 348,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,679,277. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $212.13 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $228.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.55.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 41.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FERG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Saudi Central Bank boosted its stake in Ferguson by 88.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 13,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,229,000 after buying an additional 6,389 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich grew its holdings in Ferguson by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 326,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,509,000 after buying an additional 7,916 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,183,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 96,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,932,000 after acquiring an additional 11,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,806,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ferguson’s prior quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $285.78. Ferguson analyst and earnings information
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple executives, including COO William Thees Jr., VP Anthony Camposano, Ian Graham, Jake Schlicher and Kevin Murphy, completed additional sales on October 14–15. The sellers retained substantial holdings, suggesting the transactions may reflect routine portfolio diversification rather than a broad loss of confidence in Ferguson’s business. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent filings show significant aggregate insider selling, including Kevin Murphy’s sale of 11,259 shares for approximately $2.44 million on October 12 and CFO William Brundage’s sale of 5,986 shares worth about $1.31 million. Additional sales by other executives bring the recent reported total to roughly $6 million, potentially weighing on sentiment. SEC insider sale filing

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a North American distributor of plumbing and heating products, supplying professional customers across the residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure markets. The company serves contractors, builders, remodelers, municipalities, industrial businesses and other trade professionals through branch locations, distribution centers and digital ordering platforms.

Its product offerings include plumbing supplies and fixtures, heating and cooling equipment, water and wastewater products, fire protection systems, waterworks materials, industrial piping and related maintenance, repair and operating supplies.