ABN Amro Investment Solutions Makes New $42.72 Million Investment in Ferguson plc $FERG

ABN Amro Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 196,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,718,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions owned about 0.10% of Ferguson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in Ferguson by 51.5% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Ferguson by 0.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 4.6% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 145.3% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.75.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $699,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,631 shares in the company, valued at $12,279,864.92. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total transaction of $710,910.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $253.25 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $236.63. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $256.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 6.03%.The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.55%.

About Ferguson

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.