Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 157,394 Shares of Toast, Inc. $TOST

Key Points

• Jennison Associates increased its stake in Toast by 157,394 shares in Q4, bringing its holding to 15,157,955 shares (2.94% of the company) valued at about $538.3 million.
• Company insiders sold shares during the quarter — including President Stephen Fredette (7,289 shares) and General Counsel Brian Elworthy (3,664 shares) — with total insider sales of 46,030 shares worth roughly $1.23 million, and insiders now own 12.14% of the stock.
• Toast reported Q4 EPS of $0.16 vs. $0.24 expected and revenue of $1.63 billion (up 22% year-over-year); analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $39.48 while the stock trades around $28 and has a market cap near $14.4 billion.

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,157,955 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 157,394 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 2.94% of Toast worth $538,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Toast in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Toast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Toast by 123.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 943 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Toast in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Toast in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Toast

In other news, President Stephen Fredette sold 7,289 shares of Toast stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $190,898.91. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 920,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,120,597.15. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,664 shares of Toast stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $95,960.16. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 243,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,380,983.98. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,030 shares of company stock valued at $1,231,451. 12.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Toast Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE TOST opened at $27.96 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $27.63 and its 200-day moving average is $32.04. The stock has a market cap of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.67 and a beta of 1.90. Toast, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.35 and a twelve month high of $49.66.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 5.56%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Toast, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toast announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on TOST shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Toast from $60.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial set a $36.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Toast from $47.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a research note on Monday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Toast presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.48.

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.

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