Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Toro (NYSE:TTC)

Key Points

• Toro Company experienced a surge in options trading with 1,176 put options purchased, marking an increase of approximately 1,709% compared to the average daily volume.
• The company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.02, but showed a 2.3% revenue decline year-over-year.
• Toro recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, providing investors with an annual dividend yield of 2.0%.

Toro Company (The) (NYSE:TTC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 1,176 put options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof1,709% compared to the typical daily volume of 65 put options.

Toro Stock Up 0.5%

TTC stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 558,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,028. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Toro has a 12 month low of $62.34 and a 12 month high of $93.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.80.

Toro (NYSE:TTC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. Toro had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 27.99%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Toro's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Toro will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Toro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Toro's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Northland Capmk downgraded shares of Toro from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Toro from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Toro from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Toro in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $76.00 target price on shares of Toro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.75.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Toro by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 368 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Toro by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 495 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Toro by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Financial Harvest LLC bought a new stake in Toro in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Toro by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 663 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 87.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.