Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 948,511 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,001 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Toro were worth $107,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TTC. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Toro by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 252,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,583,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Toro by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 16,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Toro by 1,410.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,295,000 after purchasing an additional 51,917 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Toro by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 52,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Toro by 990.5% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. 85.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Toro news, VP Daryn A. Walters acquired 910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $110.05 per share, for a total transaction of $100,145.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 1,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,487. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Daryn A. Walters purchased 910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $110.05 per share, for a total transaction of $100,145.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,740 shares in the company, valued at $191,487. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard W. Rodier sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.82, for a total transaction of $326,460.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 23,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,583,060.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,516,758. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TTC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Toro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. CL King assumed coverage on shares of Toro in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities began coverage on shares of Toro in a research note on Monday, April 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Toro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.25.

Toro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TTC opened at $105.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08 and a beta of 0.72. The Toro Company has a 12 month low of $71.86 and a 12 month high of $117.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.79 and its 200 day moving average is $109.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Toro (NYSE:TTC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 9th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.07. Toro had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 36.04%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Toro’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Toro Company will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Toro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 6th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Toro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.82%.

Toro Company Profile

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The Toro Co is in the business of designing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling professional turf maintenance equipment and services. It operates through the following segments: Professional and Residential. The Professional segment consists of turf and landscape equipment, rental, specialty, and underground construction equipment, snow & ice management equipment, and irrigation and lighting products.