California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII)

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 46,361 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.13% of Lennox International worth $28,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LII. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lennox International by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Lennox International by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 117 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lennox International by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 853 shares of the construction company's stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Lennox International by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 799 shares of the construction company's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Lennox International by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 520 shares of the construction company's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE LII traded down $4.82 on Friday, reaching $564.68. 901,766 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,697. Lennox International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $483.42 and a fifty-two week high of $682.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $560.49 and a 200 day moving average of $600.70. 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 market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Lennox International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from Lennox International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lennox International's payout ratio is presently 23.17%.

Insider Transactions at Lennox International

In other news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 509 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $568.05, for a total transaction of $289,137.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,655.10. The trade was a 24.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Lennox International in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $580.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lennox International from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lennox International from $625.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lennox International from $608.00 to $600.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $583.71.

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.