Insider Selling: Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Sells $53,431.00 in Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) insider Ian Graham sold 238 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total value of $53,431.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,462,989.50. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG stock traded up $2.98 on Friday, reaching $231.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 348,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,277. The company has a market capitalization of $44.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $212.13 and a 12-month high of $271.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.55. 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 (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.83%.

More Ferguson News

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson by 0.5% during the third quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 83,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,582,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 38.9% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth approximately $4,079,000. Formuepleje A S purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $1,960,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $864,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $261.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.78.

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.