Jennison Associates LLC Sells 5,502 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 559,743 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,502 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Ferguson worth $110,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Ferguson by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company's stock worth $157,293,000 after acquiring an additional 308,138 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $202.74 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $200.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.88. 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 twelve month low of $164.90 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) 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. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. UBS Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $234.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.