B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 2,500 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 63.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,466 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 80.1% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,166,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 14.5% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,493,000 after purchasing an additional 9,562 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,834,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,016,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 132.6% in the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,829,000 after buying an additional 4,775 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.1 %

FERG opened at $194.65 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.17. The company has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $147.62 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

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.