KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,123 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,458 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of Ferguson worth $23,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Ferguson by 375.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,293,000 after acquiring an additional 308,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 766,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,341,000 after acquiring an additional 187,659 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $199.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $40.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $163.03 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.19.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.