Raymond James & Associates Acquires 73,775 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 34.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,081 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,775 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.14% of Ferguson worth $63,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 1.9% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ferguson by 144.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 2,586 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 34,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,695,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James cut shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of FERG traded up $3.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $217.17. The company had a trading volume of 836,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,346. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $213.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.02. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $137.12 and a 52-week high of $224.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 36.74%.

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.