Insider Selling: Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Sells 1,097 Shares of Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) insider Ian Graham sold 1,097 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $252,310.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,020. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $227.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,809,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,833. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $227.30 and a 200 day moving average of $234.55. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $212.13 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.83%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,075,000 after buying an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,619,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,474,000 after buying an additional 48,544 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,809,000 after buying an additional 240,666 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,055,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,796,000 after buying an additional 16,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $261.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.31.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.