Ferguson plc $FERG is 59 North Capital Management LP’s 9th Largest Position

59 North Capital Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 584,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 139,735 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up 4.5% of 59 North Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. 59 North Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.30% of Ferguson worth $127,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 145.3% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 51.5% in 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 period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Ferguson by 103.6% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Ferguson by 230.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $224.24 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $146.00 and a 12 month high of $256.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $242.72.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In related news, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total value of $700,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $2,720,741.52. This represents a 20.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 8,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.13, for a total value of $2,060,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 159,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,444,645.03. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ferguson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ferguson from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.47.

Ferguson 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.