BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 52,888 Shares of Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) by 227.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,149 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 52,888 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.21% of Lennox International worth $46,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LII. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Lennox International during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lennox International by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Lennox International by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 117 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 210 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital bought a new stake in shares of Lennox International during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LII traded down $2.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $573.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 274,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,573. Lennox International Inc. has a one year low of $483.42 and a one year high of $682.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $560.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $603.79.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.25 by $0.12. Lennox International had a return on equity of 126.79% and a net margin of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.47 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lennox International Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Lennox International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Lennox International from $625.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer raised Lennox International from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $702.00 to $696.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lennox International from $565.00 to $455.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Lennox International from $580.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $577.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 509 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $568.05, for a total value of $289,137.45. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $898,655.10. This represents a 24.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.73% of the company's stock.

About Lennox International

Lennox International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets a range of products for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration markets in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The Home Comfort Solutions segment provides furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, packaged heating and cooling systems, indoor air quality equipment, comfort control products, and replacement parts and supplies; residential heating, ventilation, cooling equipment, and air conditioning; and evaporator coils and unit heaters under Lennox, Dave Lennox Signature Collection, Armstrong Air, Ducane, AirEase, Concord, MagicPak, Advanced Distributor Products, Allied, Elite Series, Merit Series, Comfort Sync, Healthy Climate, iComfort, ComfortSense, and Lennox Stores name.