Raymond James & Associates Raises Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,306 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,841 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.11% of Ferguson worth $41,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth $47,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 150.0% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in Ferguson in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James cut Ferguson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ferguson from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.2 %

Ferguson stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $218.43. 682,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,432,205. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $202.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $44.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $123.17 and a one year high of $222.39.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.