Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Takes $236,000 Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 1,835.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after buying an additional 7,377 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 57,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,617,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 1,017.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 146,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,901,000 after purchasing an additional 132,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.6 %

FERG opened at $199.94 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.08. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $163.03 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

About Ferguson

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.