Point72 DIFC Ltd Buys New Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 46,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,333,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter worth about $2,834,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 66.2% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after buying an additional 20,580 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Ferguson by 380.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,309,000 after buying an additional 126,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,528,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $221.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $202.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $167.09 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $44.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,141.26. This trade represents a 49.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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 upped their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

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.