Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 609,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,062 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $121,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,834,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth approximately $26,379,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 66.2% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after acquiring an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 126,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FERG. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. This represents a 49.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $208.92 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $200.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.84. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $166.21 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted 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 return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

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.