Parnassus Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 2.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 338,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,611 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $67,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $200.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $199.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.99. The firm has a market cap of $40.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $164.22 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at $224,271.36. The trade was a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. The trade was a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Ferguson

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.