Engineers Gate Manager LP Sells 45,733 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Engineers Gate Manager LP reduced its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,733 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $6,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 5.2% in the second quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.8%

FERG opened at $222.75 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,191,430.80. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.57.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing and heating products, water and wastewater solutions, fire protection equipment, HVAC supplies, and related products. The company primarily serves professional contractors and other trade customers, helping them source products, obtain technical support, and manage projects through its distribution network and digital platforms.

Ferguson operates mainly in North America, with businesses serving residential and commercial construction, infrastructure, facilities maintenance, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada.