Vicus Capital Acquires 272 Shares of Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL)

Vicus Capital raised its position in Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,623 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Toll Brothers were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TOL. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 5.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,602 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 11.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 66.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,017 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,615 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toll Brothers in the third quarter valued at about $265,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Toll Brothers in the third quarter valued at about $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on TOL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Toll Brothers from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $168.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Toll Brothers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target (down previously from $166.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.00.

Insider Transactions at Toll Brothers

In related news, Director Christine Garvey sold 204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total transaction of $25,659.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,728 shares in the company, valued at $972,027.84. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 11,140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total transaction of $1,404,419.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,599,311.26. This trade represents a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,202 shares of company stock worth $1,947,436. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Toll Brothers Price Performance

Shares of TOL opened at $123.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.11. The stock has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.76. Toll Brothers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.47 and a fifty-two week high of $169.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 4.92.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.34 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.11 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Toll Brothers, Inc. will post 14.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Toll Brothers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.12%.

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.