58,765 Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Ferguson stake by 84.1%, selling 58,765 shares and retaining 11,093 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million. Institutional investors still own 81.98% of the company, with several major funds increasing their positions.
• Ferguson insiders sold 38,808 shares worth approximately $8.57 million over the past quarter, including sales by COO William T. Thees Jr. and insider Jake Schlicher. Corporate insiders own just 0.15% of the company.
• Ferguson reported quarterly EPS of $3.39, beating estimates by $0.16, and pays an annualized dividend of $3.56 per share for a 1.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $285.31, versus a recent share price of $228.25.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,093 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,765 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ferguson were worth $2,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,789,368,000. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Ferguson by 613.8% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 401,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,263,000 after buying an additional 345,165 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ferguson by 43.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,029,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,234,000 after buying an additional 312,756 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ferguson by 9.2% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,809,000 after buying an additional 240,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 31.5% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 919,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,130,000 after buying an additional 220,168 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, COO William T. Thees, Jr. sold 3,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $772,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,189,600. The trade was a 9.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,191,430.80. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,808 shares of company stock worth $8,571,587. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $228.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $212.13 and a 52 week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. Analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $295.00 target price on Ferguson in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.31.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc NYSE: FERG is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.

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