Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC - Free Report) by 5,161.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,402 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 216,213 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Toro worth $17,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Toro during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Toro by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Toro by 195.7% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Toro by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Toro by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,181 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.95% of the company's stock.

Toro Trading Up 1.8%

TTC traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 599,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 975,643. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.24. The Toro Company has a 52-week low of $62.34 and a 52-week high of $100.93.

Toro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Toro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TTC has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Toro from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Toro from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Toro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Toro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Toro from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Toro currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.

About Toro

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.