Toro Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:TTC)

Toro Company (The) (NYSE:TTC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,176 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,709% compared to the average daily volume of 65 put options.

Toro Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of TTC stock opened at $94.43 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.29 and a 200-day moving average of $82.43. The stock has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27 and a beta of 0.80. Toro has a 52-week low of $62.34 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Toro (NYSE:TTC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Toro had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 29.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Toro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Toro will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Toro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. Toro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on TTC. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Toro from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Toro from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Toro from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Toro from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Toro from $97.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.40.

Insider Activity at Toro

In other Toro news, Director James Calvin O’rourke sold 4,951 shares of Toro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $492,129.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,777.60. The trade was a 64.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard M. Olson sold 119,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.15, for a total value of $11,957,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,327.90. This trade represents a 75.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Toro by 37.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 456,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,237,000 after acquiring an additional 124,373 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Toro by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 258,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,345,000 after acquiring an additional 10,835 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Toro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 125,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,889,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in shares of Toro by 425.6% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 64,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Toro by 379.6% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 55,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 44,030 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.95% of the company’s stock.

Toro Company Profile

The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC) specializes in the design, manufacture and marketing of a broad range of outdoor environment equipment for residential, commercial and professional markets. Its product portfolio includes lawn mowers, utility vehicles, snow throwers, irrigation systems and landscape maintenance equipment. Toro’s offerings span walk-behind and ride-on mowers, zero-turn radius mowers, snow blowers, sprinklers, drip irrigation products, spreaders and specialty turf maintenance machines tailored to golf courses, sports fields and municipal parks.

Founded in 1914 and headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, Toro has built a century-long legacy of innovation in the grounds-care industry.