Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149,161 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $22,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 303.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth about $2,834,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 380.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,309,000 after purchasing an additional 126,242 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,528,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $216.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $167.09 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 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.