Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 56,800 Shares of Toast, Inc. $TOST

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,800 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Toast were worth $3,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Toast by 10.9% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 602,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,986,000 after acquiring an additional 59,045 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Toast by 17.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,042,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,047,000 after acquiring an additional 152,807 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Toast during the third quarter valued at about $2,891,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Toast by 7.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,428,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351,545 shares during the period. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Toast by 3,853.3% during the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 207,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,576,000 after acquiring an additional 202,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Toast in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Toast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Toast from $43.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Toast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Toast from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Toast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.84.

Toast Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of Toast stock opened at $25.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.73. Toast, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.26 and a twelve month high of $49.66.

Toast declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 8,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $233,850.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,064 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,546.16. This trade represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Stephen Fredette sold 7,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $190,898.91. Following the transaction, the president owned 920,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,120,597.15. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,783 shares of company stock valued at $3,838,037. 10.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Toast

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.