Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,800 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Toast were worth $3,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TOST. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Toast by 1,555.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 16,379 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Toast by 24.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 81,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 15,774 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Toast by 2.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,212,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,039,000 after acquiring an additional 245,276 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Toast in the second quarter worth about $4,479,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Toast by 24.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,030,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,619,000 after acquiring an additional 203,404 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 108,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $2,796,120.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 189,642 shares in the company, valued at $4,909,831.38. This trade represents a 36.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,463 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 $352,595.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 54,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,600.47. This trade represents a 19.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,783 shares of company stock worth $3,838,037. 10.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Toast Price Performance

NYSE TOST opened at $25.10 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.73. Toast, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.26 and a 1 year high of $49.66. The company has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61 and a beta of 1.76.

Toast announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on TOST shares. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Toast in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $35.00 target price on Toast in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 target price on Toast in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Toast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Toast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.84.

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.