Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Holdings Cut by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FERG. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after buying an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after acquiring an additional 153,757 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,510,000 after acquiring an additional 79,152 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.8 %

FERG stock opened at $214.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $167.09 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.40.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released 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. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

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.