Insider Selling: Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Sells 685 Shares of Company Stock

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) insider Kevin Murphy sold 685 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.63, for a total value of $151,131.55. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 172,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,020,064.75. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kevin Michael Murphy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 15th, Kevin Murphy sold 1,776 shares of Ferguson stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total value of $398,712.00.
• On Monday, October 12th, Kevin Murphy sold 11,259 shares of Ferguson stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total value of $2,440,726.02.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.3%

FERG traded up $2.98 on Friday, reaching $231.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 348,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,277. The stock has a market cap of $44.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $212.13 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $228.56 and its 200 day moving average is $234.55.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.83%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,621,000 after acquiring an additional 434,650 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 613.8% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 401,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,263,000 after acquiring an additional 345,165 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,029,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,234,000 after acquiring an additional 312,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,809,000 after acquiring an additional 240,666 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ferguson’s prior quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $285.78. Ferguson analyst and earnings information
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple executives, including COO William Thees Jr., VP Anthony Camposano, Ian Graham, Jake Schlicher and Kevin Murphy, completed additional sales on October 14–15. The sellers retained substantial holdings, suggesting the transactions may reflect routine portfolio diversification rather than a broad loss of confidence in Ferguson’s business. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent filings show significant aggregate insider selling, including Kevin Murphy’s sale of 11,259 shares for approximately $2.44 million on October 12 and CFO William Brundage’s sale of 5,986 shares worth about $1.31 million. Additional sales by other executives bring the recent reported total to roughly $6 million, potentially weighing on sentiment. SEC insider sale filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $295.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.78.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a North American distributor of plumbing and heating products, supplying professional customers across the residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure markets. The company serves contractors, builders, remodelers, municipalities, industrial businesses and other trade professionals through branch locations, distribution centers and digital ordering platforms.

Its product offerings include plumbing supplies and fixtures, heating and cooling equipment, water and wastewater products, fire protection systems, waterworks materials, industrial piping and related maintenance, repair and operating supplies.