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

West Family Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,055 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring 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.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 145.3% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 51.5% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 103.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 230.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Vertical Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3%

FERG stock opened at $251.67 on Friday. 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 firm 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $240.15. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $256.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid 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 35.55%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $37,444,645.03. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $699,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.