Toro Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:TTC)

Toro Company (The) (NYSE:TTC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 1,176 put options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately1,709% compared to the typical daily volume of 65 put options.

Toro Price Performance

TTC stock opened at $74.34 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.93 and a 200-day moving average of $74.27. Toro has a 12-month low of $62.34 and a 12-month high of $93.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.80.

Toro (NYSE:TTC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. Toro had a return on equity of 27.99% and a net margin of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Toro will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Toro’s payout ratio is currently 38.97%.

Insider Transactions at Toro

In related news, Director Gary Lee Ellis sold 5,038 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.81, for a total transaction of $356,740.78. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,411,930.22. This trade represents a 12.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kurt D. Svendsen sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.99, for a total value of $425,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,749.54. This represents a 34.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Toro by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 368 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Toro by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Toro by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Financial Harvest LLC acquired a new position in Toro in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Toro by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 87.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TTC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $76.00 price objective on Toro and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Northland Capmk lowered Toro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Toro from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Toro in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Toro from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.75.

Toro Company Profile

The Toro Company designs, manufactures, markets, and sells professional turf maintenance equipment and services. It operates through two segments: Professional and Residential. The Professional segment offers turf and landscape equipment products, including sports fields and grounds mowing and maintenance equipment, golf course mowing and maintenance equipment, landscape contractor mowing equipment, landscape creation and renovation equipment, and other maintenance equipment; rental, specialty, and underground construction equipment, such as horizontal directional drills, walk and ride trenchers, stand-on skid steers, vacuum excavators, stump grinders, turf renovation products, asset locators, pipe rehabilitation solutions, materials handling equipment, and other after-market tools; and snow and ice management equipment, such as snowplows, as well as stand-on snow and ice removal equipment, such as snowplow, snow brush, and snow thrower attachments, salt and sand spreaders, and related parts and accessories for light and medium duty trucks, utility task vehicles, skid steers, and front-end loaders.