Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 728.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,992 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,272 shares during the period. Ferguson makes up about 0.5% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $12,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Ferguson Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $216.04 on Tuesday. The firm 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $201.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $166.21 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.