First Trust Advisors LP Has $117.67 Million Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 540,410 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 76,930 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.27% of Ferguson worth $117,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Ferguson by 51.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Ferguson by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. increased its position in Ferguson by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,034 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.70, for a total transaction of $240,611.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,458 shares in the company, valued at $339,276.60. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE FERG opened at $248.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $242.37. The firm has a market cap of $48.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $256.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.71.

Ferguson Profile

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.