Eventide Asset Management LLC Has $42.54 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 1.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 214,227 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $42,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% in the second quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% in the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $213.27 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $166.21 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $201.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.59. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $42.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20.

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. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend 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.