Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,224 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Ferguson makes up about 1.8% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $5,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after buying an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after purchasing an additional 15,700 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 967,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,424,000 after buying an additional 18,504 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.50.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ FERG traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $197.98. 1,631,771 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,395,496. The business’s 50 day moving average is $198.83 and its 200-day moving average is $203.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $154.61 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.