Captrust Financial Advisors Has $2.61 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Captrust Financial Advisors reduced its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,186 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 423.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,143 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,420,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Ferguson by 61.0% during the second quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,293,000 after purchasing an additional 308,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 3.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,462,000 after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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 that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. This represents a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $215.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $173.67 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $203.11 and its 200-day moving average is $202.63.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.