Investors Purchase High Volume of Toro Put Options (NYSE:TTC)

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

Toro Stock Performance

Shares of TTC stock traded down $0.71 on Thursday, hitting $87.73. The company had a trading volume of 544,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,387. Toro has a twelve month low of $77.15 and a twelve month high of $102.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.86.

Toro Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Toro's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Toro's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.90%.

Toro declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Toro by 112.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Toro by 850.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 855 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Toro by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 908 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Toro in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Toro by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 87.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TTC. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Toro from $103.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Toro from $102.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Northland Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Toro in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Toro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Toro has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.33.

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.