Paloma Partners Management Co Makes New $3.21 Million Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 16,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,214,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company's stock worth $1,668,462,000 after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company's stock worth $302,781,000 after acquiring an additional 153,757 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 423.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,510,000 after acquiring an additional 79,152 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $214.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 886,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,373. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $167.09 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $201.96 and a 200 day moving average of $202.40.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. Ferguson's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.38.

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.