Neuberger Berman Group LLC Buys 4,307 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,122 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,307 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 145.3% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Ferguson by 51.5% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Ferguson by 103.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Ferguson by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Vertical Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $291.99 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.47.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $224.24 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $242.72. The company has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $256.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 6.28%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 33.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Allison Stirrup sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total value of $226,968.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,184,735.34. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total value of $710,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,940.67. The trade was a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson 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.