Connable Office Inc. Sells 1,929 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Connable Office Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,929 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $203.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 2.00 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. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $163.03 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.29.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for 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%. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.