Employees Retirement System of Texas Grows Stock Holdings in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas dramatically increased its stake in Toast, boosting holdings by 23,078.2% in the fourth quarter to 1.11 million shares, worth about $39.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Toast remains mostly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $37.84, though several firms have recently cut their targets.
• Toast shares were up 0.8% to $23.35, while the company continues to see notable insider selling and maintains heavy institutional ownership at 82.91%.

Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST - Free Report) by 23,078.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,114,408 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,109,600 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.22% of Toast worth $39,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Toast by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 943 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Toast by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Toast by 8,807.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Toast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Toast by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. 82.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on TOST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research report on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Toast from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Toast from $60.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Toast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.84.

Toast Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE TOST opened at $23.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92 and a beta of 1.81. Toast, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.26 and a 52-week high of $49.66. The business's 50 day moving average is $26.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.49.

Toast declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Toast news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 8,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $233,850.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,546.16. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $95,960.16. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 243,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,380,983.98. The trade was a 1.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 39,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,041,917 over the last quarter. 12.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Toast Profile

Toast, Inc NYSE: TOST is a technology company that builds a cloud-based platform for restaurants and other foodservice businesses. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Toast offers integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems and a suite of software and hardware designed to streamline front-of-house and back-of-house operations. The company went public in 2021 and has positioned itself as a vertically integrated provider for the restaurant industry.

Toast's product portfolio includes touchscreen POS terminals and handheld order-and-pay devices, kitchen display systems, and peripherals tailored for high-volume foodservice environments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.