PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,285 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Ferguson by 375.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ferguson by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after buying an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,412,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,510,000 after buying an additional 79,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ferguson by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,846,000 after buying an additional 15,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $208.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a PEG 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 plc has a 1 year low of $166.21 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $200.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.61.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share 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 for 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. Ferguson’s revenue 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 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 issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, 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 in the company, valued at $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson 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.