Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lessened its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 19.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 495,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121,578 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $107,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Ferguson Trading Down 0.3%

FERG opened at $242.38 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.81. The company has a market capitalization of $47.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $256.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FERG. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Vertical Research began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.75.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,631 shares in the company, valued at $12,279,864.92. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 4,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.22, for a total transaction of $1,134,382.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,886.18. This represents a 38.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.