Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 210.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,754 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,569 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $7,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 2.1% in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ferguson by 1.1% in 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 0.8% in 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. Finally, W1M Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 6.2% in the second quarter. W1M Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,980,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,945,000 after buying an additional 116,418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $295.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.44.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $235.17 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $45.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.20. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $212.13 and a 52-week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, insider Kevin Murphy sold 1,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total transaction of $398,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 168,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,814,780. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $252,310.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,271,020. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 38,808 shares of company stock valued at $8,571,587 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

More Ferguson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ferguson declared a dividend of $0.89 per share, payable January 8, 2027, to shareholders of record on November 20. That equates to $3.56 annualized and a yield of about 1.4%; the payout may offer some support, though it is unlikely to be a major catalyst on its own. Ferguson Declares Dividend

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.