Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 13,150 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,561 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,150 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.09% of Ferguson worth $34,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 33.2% during the first 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. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 18.3% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Ferguson during the first quarter valued at $26,379,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Ferguson by 5.8% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 17,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after buying an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.4 %

FERG stock opened at $213.27 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $166.21 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $201.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The company 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%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FERG. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,750. The trade was a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ferguson Company 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.