Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 56.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,105 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,622 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,341,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,211,692,000 after purchasing an additional 173,128 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Ferguson by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,977,000 after purchasing an additional 27,312 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 13.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,576,000 after acquiring an additional 827,355 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ferguson by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 39.3% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,493 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total value of $700,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,720,741.52. This trade represents a 20.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 4,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.22, for a total value of $1,134,382.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,886.18. This trade represents a 38.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FERG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.75.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $253.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $49.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $239.23. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $256.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.55%.

About Ferguson

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.