Mirabella Financial Services LLP Makes New $9.97 Million Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 50,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth approximately $216,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,469,000. Vancity Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,901,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $209.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $200.83 and a 200-day moving average of $202.61. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $166.21 and a one year high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $42.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Profile

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.