Hennessy Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,900 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.08% of Toll Brothers worth $9,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of TOL. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Toll Brothers by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,118,459 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $327,281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,758 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers in the 3rd quarter worth $111,562,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,095,673 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $241,380,000 after buying an additional 541,140 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 81.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 963,650 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $110,993,000 after buying an additional 431,160 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers in the 3rd quarter worth $38,985,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

Toll Brothers Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TOL opened at $134.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $141.72 and its 200 day moving average is $140.70. Toll Brothers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.46 and a 1 year high of $169.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 4.92 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.34 by $0.29. Toll Brothers had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Toll Brothers, Inc. will post 14.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Toll Brothers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TOL shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Toll Brothers from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Toll Brothers from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Toll Brothers from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $164.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (down from $166.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Toll Brothers from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.64.

Insider Activity at Toll Brothers

In other Toll Brothers news, Director Paul E. Shapiro sold 3,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.14, for a total transaction of $514,695.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 119,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,088,349.18. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine Garvey sold 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total value of $25,659.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $972,027.84. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,202 shares of company stock valued at $1,947,436 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

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.