Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Takes Position in Toll Brothers Inc. $TOL

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC has acquired 272,000 shares of Toll Brothers Inc. valued at approximately $28.72 million, increasing its stake to about 0.27% of the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Toll Brothers, with Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada setting targets at $145.00, contributing to an average target price of $145.92.
• Toll Brothers recently reported earnings of $3.73 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 7.35%.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE:TOL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 272,000 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $28,720,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.27% of Toll Brothers at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 84.2% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 245 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 272 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 152.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 1,035.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 218.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 91.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Toll Brothers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $169.00 target price (up from $167.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Toll Brothers from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Toll Brothers presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toll Brothers

In other news, Director Stephen F. East sold 2,500 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.33, for a total transaction of $288,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,474,724.71. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Grubb sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $60,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,680. This represents a 17.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,601 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,874. Company insiders own 1.54% of the company's stock.

Toll Brothers Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:TOL traded up $0.19 on Friday, hitting $139.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,188,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,777. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $123.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 4.38. Toll Brothers Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.67 and a 1 year high of $169.52. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.33.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The construction company reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.14. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.60 EPS. Toll Brothers's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Toll Brothers Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Toll Brothers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Toll Brothers's payout ratio is currently 7.35%.

About Toll Brothers

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.