Qsemble Capital Management LP Invests $3.45 Million in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,453,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 303.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,834,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,379,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in Ferguson by 66.2% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Ferguson by 380.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,309,000 after purchasing an additional 126,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $216.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $166.21 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.58.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

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.