B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $6.79 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 34,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,792,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 worth $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 about $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew 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, ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at about $45,850,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $202.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,078,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,267,546. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $164.90 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average price is $200.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,141.26. This trade represents a 49.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.