Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Newly Bought by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 18,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,079,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,619,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,474,000 after acquiring an additional 48,544 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,055,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,796,000 after acquiring an additional 16,866 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.78.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE FERG opened at $231.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.52. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $212.13 and a one year high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, COO William T. Thees, Jr. sold 3,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $772,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,680 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,600. This represents a 9.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 1,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value of $405,543.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,517,916.14. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 37,711 shares of company stock valued at $8,319,277 over the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Ferguson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ferguson’s most recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $285.78, well above recent trading levels, which may support investor confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to offer shareholder returns through its quarterly dividend, equivalent to $3.56 annually and a yield of approximately 1.6%. Ferguson also retains strong profitability, including a reported 37.24% return on equity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Ferguson executives and insiders reported stock sales during the week, including COO William Thees Jr., VP Anthony Camposano, Ian Graham, Jake Schlicher, Allison Stirrup and Kevin Murphy. The reported transactions involved thousands of shares and several million dollars in aggregate proceeds. Ferguson insider trading report
• Neutral Sentiment: All of the disclosed sales were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. That reduces their significance as a signal that management expects Ferguson’s business or valuation to weaken, particularly because the sellers retained substantial positions.
• Negative Sentiment: The concentration of insider selling could nevertheless create modest near-term pressure on sentiment and may limit the stock’s upside, especially with Ferguson trading below its 200-day moving average.

About Ferguson

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.