KBC Group NV Has $23.85 Million Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,123 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,458 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $23,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 10.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter worth approximately $914,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 40.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,324,000 after buying an additional 9,161 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 211,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,075,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 245,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,652,000 after buying an additional 78,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Barclays upped their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of FERG opened at $199.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $199.36 and its 200 day moving average is $203.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $163.03 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.