Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Lennox International, Inc. by 62.5%, holding shares now valued at approximately $1.26 million after selling 3,740 shares.
• Lennox International recently reported earnings per share of $7.82 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $6.90, and noted a 3.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company initiated a $1 billion share buyback program in May, indicating management's confidence in the stock's undervaluation, while also increasing its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.30.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) by 62.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,240 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,740 shares during the quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Lennox International were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LII. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lennox International during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennox International in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennox International in the first quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Lennox International by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 421 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 67.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LII. Barclays raised their target price on Lennox International from $696.00 to $753.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lennox International from $619.00 to $691.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lennox International from $455.00 to $549.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $570.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennox International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $635.33.

Lennox International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LII traded down $11.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $581.96. 243,460 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 383,581. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average is $588.67 and its 200-day moving average is $583.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. Lennox International, Inc. has a one year low of $500.10 and a one year high of $689.44.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $7.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.90 by $0.92. Lennox International had a return on equity of 99.81% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lennox International, Inc. will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Lennox International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Lennox International's payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Lennox International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel M. Sessa sold 2,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.04, for a total value of $1,864,051.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,155,842.96. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.