Investors Purchase High Volume of ADT Put Options (NYSE:ADT)

ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 3,052 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 269% compared to the average daily volume of 827 put options.

ADT Stock Down 6.4 %

NYSE:ADT traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $7.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,911,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,266,776. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.53. ADT has a 12 month low of $5.53 and a 12 month high of $8.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.17.

ADT (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The security and automation business reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. ADT had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that ADT will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ADT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.055 dividend. This represents a $0.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. ADT's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of ADT from $8.20 to $9.20 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of ADT from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ADT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ADT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ADT by 10.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,406,307 shares of the security and automation business's stock worth $237,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427,575 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in ADT by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 30,360,559 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $230,740,000 after acquiring an additional 780,762 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ADT in the 2nd quarter valued at $195,461,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of ADT by 61.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,359,752 shares of the security and automation business's stock worth $93,937,000 after acquiring an additional 4,705,544 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of ADT by 186.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,646,113 shares of the security and automation business's stock worth $73,310,000 after acquiring an additional 6,272,974 shares during the period. 87.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ADT

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.