Markel Group Inc. Makes New $783,000 Investment in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Markel Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 27,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Toast by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,977,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,478,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,009 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Toast during the second quarter valued at about $54,320,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Toast by 131.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,456,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,021 shares in the last quarter. Lead Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Toast in the first quarter valued at about $34,632,000. Finally, Light Street Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Toast in the second quarter valued at about $32,480,000. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of TOST stock opened at $33.61 on Wednesday. Toast, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.26 and a fifty-two week high of $39.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.30 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.38.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Toast had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 23.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Toast, Inc. will post 1.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Toast

In other Toast news, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 7,623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total value of $230,138.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 77,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,430.56. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 14,713 shares of Toast stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total transaction of $431,826.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,540,037.05. The trade was a 14.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 375,132 shares of company stock worth $12,961,699 in the last 90 days. 10.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on TOST shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Toast from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Toast from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Toast from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Toast from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Toast from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.11.

Toast News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue was $1.98 billion, topping analysts’ $1.97 billion estimate. One report said earnings were $0.37 per share, matching consensus and up from $0.25 a year earlier. Toast matches Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report gave quarterly EPS as $0.29, below the $0.36 consensus. Because this conflicts with the $0.37 figure reported elsewhere, the earnings signal is unclear; investors may look to the company’s official results for clarification. Toast Q3 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Toast is fighting an FTC lawsuit concerning its business contracts, creating potential legal and regulatory uncertainty. The article does not specify the case’s financial impact. Toast is fighting an FTC lawsuit

Toast Company Profile

Toast, Inc (NYSE:TOST) provides a cloud-based technology platform designed for restaurants. Its integrated system combines point-of-sale software and hardware with payment processing, helping restaurants manage sales, orders, menus, guest interactions and day-to-day operations from a unified platform.

The company offers products and services including online ordering, delivery management, digital ordering and payment tools, restaurant websites, gift cards, loyalty programs, marketing, labor management, payroll, inventory management, reporting and analytics.