Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.20 Million Stock Position in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has reduced its holdings in Toast, Inc. by 58.9%, now owning 96,382 shares valued at approximately $3.2 million after selling 138,325 shares.
• Several other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, have increased their stakes in Toast during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts generally maintain a positive outlook on Toast, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.54.

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST - Free Report) by 58.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,382 shares of the company's stock after selling 138,325 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Toast were worth $3,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Toast during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Toast by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 1,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Toast by 862.1% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Toast by 29.2% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,257 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Toast by 227.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.91% of the company's stock.

Toast Price Performance

Shares of TOST traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,036,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,916,943. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.51. Toast, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.05 and a twelve month high of $49.66. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.35 and a beta of 2.00.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Toast had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. Analysts forecast that Toast, Inc. will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TOST shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Toast from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Toast from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Toast from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Toast from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,829 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $588,977.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 302,498 shares in the company, valued at $12,883,389.82. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Bell sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.38, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 226,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,615,682.96. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,342 shares of company stock worth $3,804,710 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.14% of the company's stock.

Toast Profile

Toast, Inc operates a cloud-based digital technology platform for the restaurant industry in the United States, Ireland, and India. The company offers software products for restaurant operations and point of sale, such as Toast POS, Toast now, multi-location management, kitchen display system, Toast mobile order and pay, Toast catering and events, Toast invoicing, Toast tables, and restaurant retail; and hardware products, including Toast flex, Toast flex for guest, Toast go 2, Toast tap, kiosks, and Delphi by Toast.