Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Acquires 1,281 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,920 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $12,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first 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 last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Ferguson by 61.0% in 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, M&G Plc purchased a new position in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,489,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.50.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $198.38 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. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $147.62 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The company has a market capitalization of $39.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $200.30 and its 200 day moving average is $204.56.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.