Ferguson plc $FERG Stock: AIA Group Ltd Grows Position

Key Points

• AIA Group increased its Ferguson stake by 77% in the third quarter, to 114,523 shares worth about $25.5 million. Institutional investors overall own nearly 82% of the company.
• Ferguson reported quarterly EPS of $3.39, beating estimates of $3.23, on revenue of $8.75 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $287.44. Company insiders sold 38,808 shares worth about $8.6 million in the last quarter, with the cited transactions made under pre-arranged trading plans.

AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 77.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,523 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 49,830 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd owned 0.06% of Ferguson worth $25,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ferguson in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 50.5% in the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 277 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $241.75 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $225.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $212.13 and a 12 month high of $271.64.

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

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other news, CFO William Brundage sold 5,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value of $1,309,377.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,908 shares in the company, valued at $12,010,575.92. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ian Graham sold 1,854 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total transaction of $405,543.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,517,916.14. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 38,808 shares of company stock valued at $8,571,587 in the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $252.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $287.44.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FERG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.