1,187 Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Purchased by Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. The trade was a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,750. This trade represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $199.94 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $199.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.08. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $163.03 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

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.