Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 168,986 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 77,477 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Toll Brothers were worth $17,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voss Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Toll Brothers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,223,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 834,899 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $85,819,000 after purchasing an additional 243,553 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 87.8% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 36,337 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,687,000 after buying an additional 16,993 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 13,429 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Toll Brothers by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 510,961 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,522,000 after acquiring an additional 54,384 shares in the last quarter. 91.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TOL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Toll Brothers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Toll Brothers from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Toll Brothers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.80.

Toll Brothers Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:TOL opened at $123.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 4.95. Toll Brothers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.26 and a 1 year high of $130.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.36 and a 200-day moving average of $102.21.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The construction company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 21.04%. Toll Brothers’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Toll Brothers, Inc. will post 13.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This is an increase from Toll Brothers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Toll Brothers’s payout ratio is currently 7.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen F. East sold 1,500 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $178,980.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,120,295.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Toll Brothers news, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total value of $580,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,721 shares in the company, valued at $5,770,122.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen F. East sold 1,500 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $178,980.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,120,295.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,500 shares of company stock worth $7,881,930 over the last 90 days. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Toll Brothers Profile

Toll Brothers, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, builds, markets, sells, and arranges finance for a range of detached and attached homes in luxury residential communities in the United States. It designs, builds, markets, and sells condominiums through Toll Brothers City Living. The company also develops a range of single-story living and first-floor primary bedroom suite home designs, as well as communities with recreational amenities, such as golf courses, marinas, pool complexes, country clubs, and fitness and recreation centers; and develops, operates, and rents apartments.