1,807 Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Purchased by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,423 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter worth $2,834,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter worth $26,379,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 66.2% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after buying an additional 20,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Ferguson by 380.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,309,000 after acquiring an additional 126,242 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $213.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $201.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.59. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $166.21 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 37.05%.

Ferguson 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.