Formuepleje A S Purchases New Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Formuepleje A S purchased 8,802 Ferguson shares valued at approximately $1.96 million, while other institutions also increased their positions. Institutional investors now own 81.98% of the company.
• Ferguson insiders sold 32,504 shares worth about $7.16 million over the past 90 days, including sales by Kevin Murphy and Ian Graham. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, and insiders retain remaining stakes.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.78 versus the stock’s recent price of $227.99. Ferguson also recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus.

Formuepleje A S purchased a new position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,960,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $864,000. Scott Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 41.0% during the third quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ferguson by 31.3% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 356.8% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Management Inc. now owns 15,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,355,000 after buying an additional 11,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider Kevin Murphy sold 11,259 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $2,440,726.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 173,863 shares in the company, valued at $37,690,021.14. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ian Graham sold 1,854 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value 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. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,504 shares of company stock valued at $7,155,336. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FERG. Jefferies Financial Group set a $295.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.78.

Key Headlines Impacting Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Six Ferguson insiders—including CFO William Brundage, COO William Thees Jr., VP Anthony Camposano and other executives—sold a combined 27,327 shares worth approximately $6.0 million on October 12. Each seller retained a meaningful stake in the company. Ferguson insider trading report
• Neutral Sentiment: All of the transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. That suggests the sales were scheduled for diversification or liquidity purposes rather than necessarily reflecting declining confidence in Ferguson’s operations or valuation. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: The broad participation by senior executives may create modest near-term pressure on investor sentiment, particularly as individual holdings declined by roughly 6% to 25%. However, the remaining ownership positions and scheduled-sale structure reduce the likelihood that investors will interpret the filings as a strong fundamental warning. SEC insider transaction filing

Ferguson Price Performance

NYSE FERG traded up $5.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $227.99. 837,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,680,886. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $212.13 and a 1-year high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $229.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc NYSE: FERG is a North American distributor of plumbing and heating products, supplying professional customers across the residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure markets. The company serves contractors, builders, remodelers, municipalities, industrial businesses and other trade professionals through branch locations, distribution centers and digital ordering platforms.

Its product offerings include plumbing supplies and fixtures, heating and cooling equipment, water and wastewater products, fire protection systems, waterworks materials, industrial piping and related maintenance, repair and operating supplies.

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