Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 14.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 491,033 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 60,282 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Ferguson worth $97,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 1.8% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $260,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Ferguson by 53.4% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 319,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,953,000 after purchasing an additional 111,357 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ferguson by 19.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 114,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,108,000 after purchasing an additional 19,032 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Ferguson by 18.6% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 73,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,137,000 after purchasing an additional 11,587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

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

Ferguson Trading Down 0.1 %

FERG opened at $205.66 on Thursday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $162.61 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $198.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.29.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

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.