MML Investors Services LLC Sells 2,102 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

MML Investors Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 17.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,102 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’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 value of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % 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 three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ferguson from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.00.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $185.69 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $183.63 and a one year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.94%.

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.