Paloma Partners Management Co Buys New Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,214,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $483,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter worth $27,947,000. Socorro Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.2% during the third quarter. Socorro Asset Management LP now owns 41,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,216,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 14,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.2 %

FERG stock opened at $215.93 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $201.96 and a 200-day moving average of $202.53. The company has a market cap of $43.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $167.09 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Company 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.