Insider Selling: Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) CAO Sells 83 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Richard Winckler, the Chief Accounting Officer of Ferguson, sold 83 shares of stock at an average price of $241.79, reducing his ownership by 4.96%.
• Ferguson recently reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating estimates and achieving a net margin of 6.03%, with revenue of $8.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.4%, payable on November 7th.

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) CAO Richard Winckler sold 83 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.79, for a total transaction of $20,068.57. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $384,929.68. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Richard Winckler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 14th, Richard Winckler sold 1,034 shares of Ferguson stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.70, for a total transaction of $240,611.80.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG stock traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $237.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,155,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,755,877. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $243.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.15.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Untitled Investments LP purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,953,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 11.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,932,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,718,000 after purchasing an additional 205,531 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ferguson by 14.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 96.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,251 shares of the company's stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Ferguson by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 3,559 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.14.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.

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