Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 1,485 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $8,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 4.3% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 1,835.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 7,377 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 0.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 57,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,617,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1,017.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 146,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,901,000 after buying an additional 132,975 shares during the period. Finally, Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.6 %

FERG traded down $1.15 on Monday, hitting $198.79. 138,015 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,263,231. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $164.22 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

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.