Bleakley Financial Group LLC Reduces Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the first quarter worth $47,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Ferguson by 2,462.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth $105,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $195.50 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.67. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.