Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock Position Lessened by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,238 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,659 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Ferguson worth $27,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 3.0% during the second quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 3.2% during the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 3.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 33.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:FERG traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.25. The stock had a trading volume of 640,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $164.22 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $199.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.99.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the company'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 owns 5,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by 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.