Swiss National Bank Has $119.01 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 599,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $119,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter worth $37,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $200.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.99. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $164.22 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $40.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Ferguson Company 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.