Spire Wealth Management Cuts Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Spire Wealth Management lowered its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,408,000 after acquiring an additional 806,718 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 13.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,576,000 after acquiring an additional 827,355 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 65.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,464 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 101.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,635,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,452,000 after buying an additional 831,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3%

FERG stock opened at $247.66 on Tuesday. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $252.52. 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 cap of $48.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.12.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 35.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 8,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.13, for a total transaction of $2,060,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 159,931 shares in the company, valued at $37,444,645.03. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total transaction of $710,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at $523,940.67. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on FERG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.80.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.