Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 94,666 Shares of Toast, Inc. $TOST

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) by 194.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 143,332 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,666 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Toast were worth $5,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Toast by 7.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,428,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,768,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351,545 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,764,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,634,339,000 after acquiring an additional 352,435 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,157,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,259,000 after acquiring an additional 157,394 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,538,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,244,000 after acquiring an additional 325,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 2,432.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,215,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,957,000 after acquiring an additional 7,891,383 shares in the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toast

In related news, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $352,595.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 54,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,414,600.47. This represents a 19.95% 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, President Stephen Fredette sold 7,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $190,898.91. Following the sale, the president owned 920,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,120,597.15. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 39,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,041,917 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TOST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on Toast in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Toast from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Toast in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Toast from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Toast from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.84.

Toast Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Toast stock opened at $23.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.72. Toast, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.26 and a 12-month high of $49.66. The company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64 and a beta of 1.81.

Toast announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Toast 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.