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

The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 1,176 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,709% compared to the typical daily volume of 65 put options.

Toro Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of TTC stock opened at $84.28 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.69 and a 200 day moving average of $88.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76 and a beta of 0.72. Toro has a twelve month low of $78.35 and a twelve month high of $108.50.

Toro (NYSE:TTC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. Toro had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 26.66%. The firm’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Toro will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Toro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Toro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TTC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Toro from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Toro from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Toro from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TheStreet raised Toro from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toro

In other Toro news, VP Edric C. Funk sold 615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.57, for a total value of $55,085.55. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,958.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Toro news, Director Gary Lee Ellis sold 5,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.75, for a total value of $460,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,933,276.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edric C. Funk sold 615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.57, for a total value of $55,085.55. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,958.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Toro

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Toro by 6.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Toro in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Toro by 2.4% in the first quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 12,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Toro by 16.1% during the first quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 98,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,068,000 after purchasing an additional 13,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Toro by 3.9% during the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 160,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,683,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares in the last quarter. 87.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.