Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 15,275 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,275 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Ferguson worth $50,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% in the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 51.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Ferguson by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.71.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.3%

FERG stock opened at $249.61 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $256.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.92. The company has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total value of $710,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at $523,940.67. The trade was a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.70, for a total transaction of $240,611.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,276.60. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.