Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Makes New $248,000 Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ferguson by 375.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ferguson by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,510,000 after buying an additional 79,152 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 1.4% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,846,000 after buying an additional 15,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, 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 worth $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $208.92 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $166.21 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $200.83 and its 200-day moving average is $202.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Ferguson Company 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.