West Family Investments Inc. Acquires 803 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

by · The Cerbat Gem

West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG – Free Report) by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,055 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 57,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,233,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 10.5% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Ferguson by 0.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,607,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 342.5% in the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after buying an additional 9,077 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total transaction of $700,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $2,720,741.52. This represents a 20.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 4,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.22, for a total transaction of $1,134,382.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,886.18. This trade represents a 38.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NYSE:FERG opened at $251.67 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $256.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $240.15. The company has a market capitalization of $49.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FERG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.75.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ferguson

About Ferguson

(Free Report)

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.

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