Cantillon Capital Management LLC Sells 50,239 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,696,671 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,239 shares during the quarter. Ferguson accounts for 2.1% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.85% of Ferguson worth $336,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Two 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, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG traded up $1.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $201.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,322,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,390. The firm has a market cap of $40.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $164.22 and a one year high of $225.63. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $199.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,047,246. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.