Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 140,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,659 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $27,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $200.83 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.99. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $164.22 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $40.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued 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 business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio 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.