Korea Investment CORP Boosts Stock Position in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,459 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132,180 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Toast were worth $12,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Toast during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toast in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Toast in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Toast in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in Toast during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Toast Stock Down 0.7%

TOST opened at $28.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.13 and a beta of 1.95. Toast, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.35 and a 52 week high of $49.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.08.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 5.56%.The business’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Toast, Inc. will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toast announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.38, for a total value of $113,557.14. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 235,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,105,325.66. This represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 1,648 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total transaction of $50,000.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 340,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,337,535.82. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 100,856 shares of company stock worth $3,540,449 over the last 90 days. 12.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TOST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Toast in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 price objective on Toast in a research report on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group set a $40.00 price objective on Toast in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Toast from $51.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Toast from $60.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.46.

Toast Company Profile

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.