Ferguson plc $FERG Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stake

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 439,065 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,866 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Ferguson worth $97,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FERG. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 4.3% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Ferguson by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, insider Allison Stirrup sold 922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $207,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,583,550. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kevin Murphy sold 1,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total value of $398,712.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 168,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,814,780. This trade represents a 1.04% 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 38,808 shares of company stock valued at $8,571,587 in the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Citigroup raised Ferguson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $285.00 to $288.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Ferguson from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.44.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE FERG opened at $241.73 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.30. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $212.13 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The stock has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.83%.

Ferguson Company 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.