Ferguson plc $FERG Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Holdings

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 29.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,023 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,163 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $6,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings 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 raised its holdings 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 holdings 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 worth $668,809,000 after acquiring an additional 240,666 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 0.8% in the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FERG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $295.00 price target on Ferguson in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.31.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $228.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $212.13 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $226.45 and a 200-day moving average of $234.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ian Graham sold 1,854 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,517,916.14. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kevin Murphy sold 11,259 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $2,440,726.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 173,863 shares in the company, valued at $37,690,021.14. The trade was a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 38,808 shares of company stock valued at $8,571,587 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.