Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Buys 46,947 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 518,867 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,947 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.26% of Ferguson worth $103,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth $39,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $187.47 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $183.63 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.21. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.32.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on FERG shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.00.

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.