Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Stock: Insider Allison Stirrup Sells 922 Shares

Key Points

• Insider Allison Stirrup sold 922 Ferguson shares for approximately $207,450 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing her ownership by 11.58% while retaining 7,038 shares.
• Ferguson shares rose 1.3% to $231.74, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with $3.39 in earnings per share versus the $3.23 consensus estimate.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $285.78; Ferguson also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.89, equal to a 1.5% annualized yield.

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) insider Allison Stirrup sold 922 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $207,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,583,550. This trade represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of FERG stock traded up $2.98 on Friday, reaching $231.74. 348,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,679,277. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $212.13 and a one year high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $44.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $228.56 and a 200-day moving average of $234.55. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.83%.

Ferguson News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ferguson’s prior quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $285.78. Ferguson analyst and earnings information
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple executives, including COO William Thees Jr., VP Anthony Camposano, Ian Graham, Jake Schlicher and Kevin Murphy, completed additional sales on October 14–15. The sellers retained substantial holdings, suggesting the transactions may reflect routine portfolio diversification rather than a broad loss of confidence in Ferguson’s business. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent filings show significant aggregate insider selling, including Kevin Murphy’s sale of 11,259 shares for approximately $2.44 million on October 12 and CFO William Brundage’s sale of 5,986 shares worth about $1.31 million. Additional sales by other executives bring the recent reported total to roughly $6 million, potentially weighing on sentiment. SEC insider sale filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Saudi Central Bank grew its holdings in Ferguson by 88.5% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 13,607 shares of the company's stock worth $3,229,000 after buying an additional 6,389 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich raised its position in Ferguson by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 326,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,509,000 after buying an additional 7,916 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,183,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Ferguson by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 96,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,932,000 after acquiring an additional 11,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $1,806,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a "hold" rating and a $252.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $261.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.78.

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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