Wahed Invest LLC Invests $975,000 in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Wahed Invest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FERG. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the second quarter worth $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter worth $39,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. The trade was a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $215.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.63. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $173.67 and a 52 week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

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.