Vinva Investment Management Ltd Takes Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 18.3% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 144.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,578,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 48.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 53.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $215.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $201.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.64. The company has a market capitalization of $43.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $167.09 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Ferguson’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.