Allianz SE Takes Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,408,000 after buying an additional 806,718 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,977,000 after purchasing an additional 27,312 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ferguson by 13.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after purchasing an additional 827,355 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ferguson by 65.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 101.1% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,165,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,498,000 after buying an additional 2,094,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CFO William Brundage sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $699,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,279,864.92. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,940.67. This trade represents 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 valued at $6,853,349 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FERG. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research raised Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $242.87 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $256.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $236.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.