FORA Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $857,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. FMR LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 3.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,462,000 after acquiring an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Ferguson by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,510,000 after purchasing an additional 79,152 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 1.4% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after purchasing an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.4 %

FERG opened at $213.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $201.47 and a 200-day moving average of $202.59. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $166.21 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.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

About Ferguson

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.