Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on ADT (NYSE:ADT)

Key Points

• ADT saw unusually high bearish options activity: Investors purchased 3,601 put options, 536% above the typical volume of 566 contracts.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with ADT carrying an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $8.23. Institutional investors own 87.22% of the company’s shares.
• ADT shares edged down 0.2% to $7.08, while the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue slightly above expectations and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.055 per share, yielding about 3.1% annually.

ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 3,601 put options on the company. This is an increase of 536% compared to the typical volume of 566 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADT has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of ADT in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of ADT in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on ADT from $7.50 to $7.75 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ADT currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.23.

Institutional Trading of ADT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of ADT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $192,996,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in ADT during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,130,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ADT by 9.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 39,887,288 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $262,054,000 after buying an additional 3,529,422 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in shares of ADT in the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,871,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ADT by 17,352.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,462,039 shares of the security and automation business's stock worth $16,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,447,932 shares during the period. 87.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ADT Trading Down 0.2%

ADT stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.08. 304,904 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,805,664. ADT has a 52-week low of $6.24 and a 52-week high of $8.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $7.27 and its 200-day moving average is $6.97. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14.

ADT (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The security and automation business reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. ADT had a net margin of 11.85% and a return on equity of 18.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. ADT has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.910-0.910 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ADT will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

ADT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.055 per share. This represents a $0.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. ADT's payout ratio is presently 30.99%.

ADT Company Profile

ADT Inc NYSE: ADT is a provider of security, automation and smart-home solutions for residential and commercial customers. The company offers professionally installed and monitored alarm systems, video surveillance, fire and life-safety products, access-control solutions, and home-automation services.

For residential customers, ADT provides security systems that can integrate alarms, cameras, locks, lighting, thermostats and other connected devices. Its services generally include 24-hour professional monitoring, mobile-app controls, video monitoring and related support.

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.