Huntington National Bank Has $341,000 Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,717 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 303.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,834,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,379,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,835.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 7,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 380.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,309,000 after purchasing an additional 126,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $199.94 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $163.03 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.14. 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 (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted 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. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.38.

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.