Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Boosts Stock Position in Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL - Free Report) by 50.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 815,000 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 275,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.82% of Toll Brothers worth $102,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TOL. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Toll Brothers during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Toll Brothers during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Toll Brothers by 1,034.8% during the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 261 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 806.5% during the 4th quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 281 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 91.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine Garvey sold 420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.58, for a total transaction of $46,443.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,107.88. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TOL shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Toll Brothers from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $142.00 to $139.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Toll Brothers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Toll Brothers in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Toll Brothers from $155.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.79.

Toll Brothers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TOL traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $100.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 972,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,542,184. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 6.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.48. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.24). Toll Brothers had a net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Toll Brothers, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Toll Brothers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Toll Brothers's payout ratio is currently 6.88%.

Toll Brothers 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.