Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,849 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,772 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Toast were worth $5,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bayban purchased a new position in Toast in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Toast during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Toast during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in Toast in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Toast by 2,083.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 11,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $334,804.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 185,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,341,577.50. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 14,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $414,430.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 70,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,032,511.35. This trade represents a 16.94% 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 159,265 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,832 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.03% of the company’s stock.

Toast Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Toast stock opened at $32.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.82 and a beta of 1.74. Toast, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.26 and a 52 week high of $49.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.92.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 20.86% and a net margin of 6.39%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Toast, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on TOST shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Toast from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Toast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Toast from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Toast in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Toast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.15.

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.