Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) Position Decreased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL - Free Report) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,111 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,251 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Toll Brothers were worth $3,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,528,853 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $318,509,000 after acquiring an additional 410,394 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Toll Brothers by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,192,909 shares of the construction company's stock worth $276,263,000 after purchasing an additional 35,001 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Toll Brothers by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,903,545 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $239,751,000 after purchasing an additional 236,402 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Toll Brothers by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,226,271 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $154,449,000 after purchasing an additional 341,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,216,625 shares of the construction company's stock worth $153,234,000 after purchasing an additional 239,917 shares during the period. 91.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Toll Brothers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TOL traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.95. 3,627,188 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,570,253. The company has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.71. Toll Brothers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.67 and a 52 week high of $169.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 4.65 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Toll Brothers's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Toll Brothers, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Toll Brothers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Toll Brothers's payout ratio is presently 6.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TOL. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Toll Brothers from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Toll Brothers from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Toll Brothers in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Toll Brothers from $143.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Toll Brothers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine Garvey sold 420 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.58, for a total transaction of $46,443.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,107.88. This trade represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Toll Brothers Company Profile

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.