Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Buys 1,281 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,920 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $12,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 80.1% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,166,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 303.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,493,000 after purchasing an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,834,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,016,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.50.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $198.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $200.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.56. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $39.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.05%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.