Raymond James Trust N.A. Purchases 1,835 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 25.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,067 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.00.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG traded up $5.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $214.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 756,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,446. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $147.62 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.38. The stock has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.22.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.05. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.