Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Bought by Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. raised its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,958 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $9,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 375.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 589.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after buying an additional 153,757 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,510,000 after buying an additional 79,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after buying an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FERG. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. The trade was a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG traded down $3.28 on Friday, hitting $199.94. 1,167,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,303,187. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $199.36 and its 200 day moving average is $203.19. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $163.03 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.05%.

About Ferguson

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.