Toro Company (The) (NYSE:TTC) Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its stake in Toro Company by 59.9%, leaving it with 19,600 shares valued at approximately $1.43 million, as per its Form 13F filing.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.42 per share, surpassing analyst estimates but experienced a 2.3% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• Toro recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, which equates to an annualized yield of 2.02%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lowered its position in shares of Toro Company (The) (NYSE:TTC - Free Report) by 59.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,300 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Toro were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Toro by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 7,031,295 shares of the company's stock worth $563,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,199,920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Toro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,561,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Toro by 133.3% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 779,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,703,000 after purchasing an additional 445,287 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Toro by 411.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 464,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,215,000 after purchasing an additional 373,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Toro by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,081,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,651,000 after purchasing an additional 291,593 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.95% of the company's stock.

Toro Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of TTC traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $74.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 603,485. Toro Company has a 12-month low of $62.34 and a 12-month high of $97.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $73.11 and its 200 day moving average is $74.58.

Toro (NYSE:TTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. Toro had a return on equity of 27.99% and a net margin of 8.77%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Toro Company will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Toro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.97%.

Insider Transactions at Toro

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on TTC. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Toro from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Toro in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Northland Capmk lowered Toro from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Toro from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $76.00 target price on Toro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.