Man Group plc Grows Stake in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST)

Man Group plc lifted its position in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 813,005 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,677 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Toast were worth $29,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Toast by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 309,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,758,000 after acquiring an additional 85,171 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Toast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $268,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Toast by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 41,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new stake in Toast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Toast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Toast Stock Performance

TOST opened at $45.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of -4,511.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.21. Toast, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.32 and a 52-week high of $45.56.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Toast had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 1.54%. Research analysts forecast that Toast, Inc. will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Toast from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Toast from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Toast from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Toast from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Toast from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.91.

Insider Transactions at Toast

In other Toast news, President Stephen Fredette sold 70,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.87, for a total transaction of $2,382,415.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 1,574,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,322,082.92. This trade represents a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher P. Comparato sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.74, for a total transaction of $3,131,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 187,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,372,643.60. This trade represents a 27.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 405,991 shares of company stock valued at $14,746,320. Company insiders own 13.32% of the company’s stock.

Toast Company Profile

Toast, Inc operates a cloud-based digital technology platform for the restaurant industry in the United States, Ireland, and India. The company offers software products for restaurant operations and point of sale, such as Toast POS, Toast now, multi-location management, kitchen display system, Toast mobile order and pay, Toast catering and events, Toast invoicing, Toast tables, and restaurant retail; and hardware products, including Toast flex, Toast flex for guest, Toast go 2, Toast tap, kiosks, and Delphi by Toast.