GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,259 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $7,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 80.1% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,166,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 303.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,493,000 after acquiring an additional 9,562 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter valued at $2,834,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,016,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG traded down $2.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $196.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 683,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,882. The company has a market capitalization of $39.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.37. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results 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 for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 34.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.50.

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.