ADT (NYSE:ADT) Price Target Raised to $9.00 at Morgan Stanley

ADT (NYSE:ADT) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $8.50 to $9.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the security and automation business’ stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ADT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on ADT from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of ADT from $8.20 to $9.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

ADT Price Performance

ADT stock opened at $7.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 1.49. ADT has a 52 week low of $6.02 and a 52 week high of $8.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

ADT (NYSE:ADT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The security and automation business reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. ADT had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that ADT will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ADT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.055 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. ADT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of ADT in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,143,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ADT in the second quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in ADT during the second quarter valued at approximately $382,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ADT by 66.8% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 47,495 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 19,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ADT by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 25,101 shares of the security and automation business’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024 shares in the last quarter. 87.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ADT

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.