Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Toll Brothers Inc. $TOL

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Toll Brothers by 3.1% in Q4, selling 295,672 shares and ending the quarter with 9,176,872 shares (9.66% ownership) valued at about $1.24 billion.
• Other institutional investors significantly increased positions — e.g., Capital World Investors +51.5% and Two Sigma +663.2% — leaving hedge funds and institutions owning roughly 91.76% of the stock.
• CEO Douglas Yearley sold 45,116 shares (~$7.24M, a 12.31% cut to his holding); meanwhile Toll Brothers beat Q4 earnings estimates, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26, and carries a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with a $164.44 price target.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE:TOL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,176,872 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 295,672 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.66% of Toll Brothers worth $1,240,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TOL. Capital World Investors grew its position in Toll Brothers by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,187,673 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $716,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763,211 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 78.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,224,289 shares of the construction company's stock worth $307,263,000 after purchasing an additional 974,567 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 209.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 917,184 shares of the construction company's stock worth $126,700,000 after purchasing an additional 621,117 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 663.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 290,374 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,112,000 after purchasing an additional 252,329 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Toll Brothers in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,811,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TOL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $177.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Toll Brothers in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Toll Brothers from $181.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Toll Brothers from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $164.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toll Brothers

In other Toll Brothers news, CEO Douglas C. Jr. Yearley sold 45,116 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $7,237,508.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 321,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,535,887.52. The trade was a 12.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen F. East sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.70, for a total value of $139,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,877,847.40. This represents a 6.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Toll Brothers Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Toll Brothers stock opened at $139.98 on Friday. Toll Brothers Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.92 and a 52-week high of $168.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.48 and a 200 day moving average of $141.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.49.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.14. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 16.83%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Toll Brothers Inc. will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Toll Brothers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. Toll Brothers's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.43%.

About Toll Brothers

Toll Brothers, Inc is a publicly traded homebuilding company that focuses on designing and constructing luxury residential properties. The company's core business encompasses a broad range of housing products, including custom single-family homes, upscale condominium communities and rental apartment ventures. Toll Brothers emphasizes high-end finishes and architectural craftsmanship, positioning itself in the premium segment of the U.S. housing market.

In addition to traditional homebuilding, Toll Brothers operates specialized divisions to address evolving consumer preferences.

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