Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC Buys 6,422 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 6,422.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,522 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,422 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EA Series Trust bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at $857,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,497,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,283,000 after purchasing an additional 122,778 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Ferguson by 5,880.5% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 4,822 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Bank of America cut shares of Ferguson from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Friday, September 1st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,142.63.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $166.48 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $111.85 and a 1 year high of $171.06. The stock has a market cap of $33.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.56 and a 200 day moving average of $155.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.33. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 41.58%. The company had revenue of $7.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.89%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 5,057 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.71, for a total transaction of $832,938.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,190.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider William T. Thees, Jr. sold 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.94, for a total value of $33,647.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,194,094.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.71, for a total value of $832,938.47. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 499 shares in the company, valued at $82,190.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,563,008 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.