RNC Capital Management LLC Sells 237 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

RNC Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,939 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $5,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 56.5% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 205 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Ferguson by 51.5% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Ferguson by 103.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Ferguson by 230.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of FERG opened at $240.28 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.40. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $246.65.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.55%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total transaction of $710,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,940.67. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Allison Stirrup sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total value of $226,968.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,184,735.34. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FERG. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.80.

About Ferguson

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.