ADT (NYSE:ADT) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of ADT (NYSE:ADT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ADT. Citigroup boosted their price objective on ADT from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of ADT from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ADT from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.34.

ADT Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ADT opened at $8.59 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.60 and its 200 day moving average is $8.30. ADT has a 12-month low of $6.68 and a 12-month high of $8.94.

ADT (NYSE:ADT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The security and automation business reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.04. ADT had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 18.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. ADT has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.810-0.890 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ADT will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ADT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.055 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. ADT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Apollo Management Holdings Gp, sold 71,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total transaction of $590,010,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 112,650,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $936,124,541.46. This trade represents a 38.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of ADT by 39.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,351 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in ADT in the 2nd quarter worth $151,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of ADT in the second quarter worth about $5,837,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of ADT in the second quarter worth about $1,317,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of ADT by 29.1% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 135,617 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 30,608 shares during the period. 87.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ADT Company Profile

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.