Insider Selling: Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Insider Sells $252,310.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Ferguson insider Ian Graham sold 1,097 shares for approximately $252,310 at an average price of $230.00, reducing his direct ownership by 10% under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Ferguson shares were trading at $227.08, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with EPS of $3.39 versus a $3.23 consensus estimate and revenue of $8.75 billion.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.89, equivalent to a 1.6% annualized yield, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $285.31.

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) insider Ian Graham sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $252,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,271,020. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:FERG traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $227.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,809,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,833. The company has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $212.13 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $227.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FERG. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Ferguson from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a "hold" rating and a $252.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth $1,789,368,000. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 613.8% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 401,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,263,000 after acquiring an additional 345,165 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,029,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,234,000 after acquiring an additional 312,756 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,809,000 after acquiring an additional 240,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Ferguson by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 919,100 shares of the company's stock worth $218,130,000 after acquiring an additional 220,168 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ferguson

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.

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