Toro Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:TTC)

The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 1,176 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,709% compared to the average volume of 65 put options.

Toro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TTC traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.95. 690,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 771,223. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.34. Toro has a 1 year low of $76.95 and a 1 year high of $100.93. The company has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Toro (NYSE:TTC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.95. Toro had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 27.25%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Toro will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toro Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Toro's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Toro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.91%.

Toro announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TTC. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Toro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Toro by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Toro by 195.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Toro by 54.6% during the fourth 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. 87.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Toro from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Toro currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.75.

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.