Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Toll Brothers Inc (TOL)

Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently.

In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to analyze stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can outpace the market by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are many motivations for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a look at the latest action regarding Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL).

What does the smart money think about Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 26 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -16% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management had the largest position in Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL), worth close to $56.3 million, accounting for 1.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $27.9 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors and Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management.

Judging by the fact that Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of fund managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes heading into Q2. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies sold off the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, worth close to $43.9 million in stock.. D. E. Shaw’s fund, D E Shaw, also cut its stock, about $10.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds heading into Q2.

Insider trading activity in Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL). These stocks are The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE:RYL), Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN), PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM), D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI), and NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR). This group of stocks are in the residential construction industry and their market caps match TOL’s market cap.