Axa S.A. Has $24.24 Million Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Axa S.A. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 2,240.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,337 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,580 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $24,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 145.3% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 51.5% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 103.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 230.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $288.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other news, insider Allison Stirrup sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total value of $226,968.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,184,735.34. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total transaction of $710,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,940.67. The trade was a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ferguson Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $231.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $45.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $242.93. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $256.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.07. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 35.55%.

About Ferguson

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.