First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 55 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 1.8% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 3.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 33.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $208.94 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $166.21 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $200.83 and its 200 day moving average is $202.61.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.