Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 491,033 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,282 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Ferguson worth $97,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 8.1% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 878,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,489,000 after acquiring an additional 65,804 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 66.2% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company's stock worth $10,256,000 after buying an additional 20,580 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $6,633,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth $2,482,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 5.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. 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, Ferguson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ferguson news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 0.00 % 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 company insiders.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FERG traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $204.44. 461,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,265,947. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $198.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $41.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $163.03 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.05%.

Ferguson Company 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.