Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 46,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TOST. BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Toast by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 8,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Toast by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Toast by 1.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory increased its position in Toast by 3.1% during the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 12,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its position in Toast by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 6,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Toast news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 108,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $2,796,120.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 189,642 shares in the company, valued at $4,909,831.38. This represents a 36.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 6,647 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $191,765.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 69,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,519.10. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 159,265 shares of company stock worth $4,278,832 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.03% of the company’s stock.

Toast Stock Up 6.2%

Shares of TOST stock opened at $30.83 on Tuesday. Toast, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.26 and a 52 week high of $49.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a PE ratio of 47.43 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.96.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 20.86% and a net margin of 6.39%.The business’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.09 EPS. Analysts expect that Toast, Inc. will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on TOST. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Toast in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on Toast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Toast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Toast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.08.

About Toast

Toast, Inc (NYSE: TOST) is a technology company that builds a cloud-based platform for restaurants and other foodservice businesses. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Toast offers integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems and a suite of software and hardware designed to streamline front-of-house and back-of-house operations. The company went public in 2021 and has positioned itself as a vertically integrated provider for the restaurant industry.

Toast’s product portfolio includes touchscreen POS terminals and handheld order-and-pay devices, kitchen display systems, and peripherals tailored for high-volume foodservice environments.