Insider Selling: Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Sells 1,854 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Ferguson insider Ian Graham sold 1,854 shares at an average price of $218.74, worth approximately $405,544. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced his position by 13.87%, leaving him with 11,511 shares.
• Ferguson recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.39 in EPS on $8.75 billion in revenue. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.89, representing a 1.6% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $283.07, while institutional investors own nearly 82% of the stock.

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) insider Ian Graham sold 1,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value of $405,543.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,517,916.14. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE FERG traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $222.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,358,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,467. The stock has a market cap of $43.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $212.13 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The business's 50-day moving average is $229.67 and its 200-day moving average is $234.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The business 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 expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in Ferguson by 4.3% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 6.9% during the second quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 944 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 26.1% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 300 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FERG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.07.

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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