Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 22,361 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,361 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $8,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after buying an additional 288,935 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after acquiring an additional 161,662 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 423.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FERG opened at $216.93 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $175.42 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.63. The firm has a market cap of $43.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.21.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.05%.

Ferguson 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.