Greenland Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 6,242 Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• Greenland Capital Management initiated a Ferguson stake of 6,242 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.98% of the company, with Wellington Management increasing its holdings by 150.8%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Ferguson receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $285.57. Recent targets range from $261 to $313.
• Ferguson exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.39 in EPS versus a $3.23 consensus estimate, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.89, representing a 1.6% annualized yield.

Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,481,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company's stock worth $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company's stock worth $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ferguson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company's stock worth $1,005,567,000 after acquiring an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company's stock worth $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ferguson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.57.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.1%

FERG stock opened at $228.53 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $207.64 and a one year high of $271.64. The stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $235.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.07. 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 (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,195,472.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,191,430.80. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ferguson

Ferguson NYSE: FERG is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.

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