Achmea Investment Management B.V. Buys 16,711 Shares of Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,338 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 16,711 shares during the period. Lennox International comprises 0.7% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned about 0.26% of Lennox International worth $51,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Lennox International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennox International during the first quarter worth $43,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Lennox International by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lennox International in the 1st quarter worth about $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Price Performance

NYSE:LII traded up $7.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $573.24. The stock had a trading volume of 368,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,919. Lennox International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $500.10 and a 12 month high of $682.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $561.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $586.80.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.25 by $0.12. Lennox International had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 106.05%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.47 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lennox International, Inc. will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Lennox International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Lennox International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.17%.

Lennox International declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LII has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Lennox International in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lennox International from $608.00 to $600.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Lennox International from $625.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Lennox International from $580.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lennox International from $455.00 to $549.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $582.46.

Insider Transactions at Lennox International

In other news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 509 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $568.05, for a total transaction of $289,137.45. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,655.10. This represents a 24.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.73% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Company Profile

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.