Markel Group Inc. Makes New $783,000 Investment in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Markel Group Inc. acquired a new position in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Toast by 138.8% during the second quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 264,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,807,000 after purchasing an additional 153,928 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Toast in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,320,000. Keenan Capital LLC acquired a new position in Toast in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,047,000. Quantitative Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Toast by 120.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 63,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 34,831 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Toast by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 970,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,008,000 after buying an additional 312,077 shares during the period. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Toast News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue was $1.98 billion, topping analysts’ $1.97 billion estimate. One report said earnings were $0.37 per share, matching consensus and up from $0.25 a year earlier. Toast matches Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report gave quarterly EPS as $0.29, below the $0.36 consensus. Because this conflicts with the $0.37 figure reported elsewhere, the earnings signal is unclear; investors may look to the company’s official results for clarification. Toast Q3 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Toast is fighting an FTC lawsuit concerning its business contracts, creating potential legal and regulatory uncertainty. The article does not specify the case’s financial impact. Toast is fighting an FTC lawsuit

Toast Stock Performance

NYSE TOST opened at $33.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.38. Toast, Inc. has a one year low of $22.26 and a one year high of $39.67. The firm has a market cap of $17.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.30 and a beta of 1.74.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.07). Toast had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 23.90%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Toast, Inc. will post 1.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toast

In other Toast news, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 85,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total value of $3,099,075.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 69,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,542,564.44. The trade was a 54.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 119,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.38, for a total transaction of $4,240,045.34. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 375,132 shares of company stock valued at $12,961,699 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Toast from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Toast from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Toast from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Toast from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $40.00 target price on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Toast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.11.

Toast Profile

Toast, Inc (NYSE:TOST) provides a cloud-based technology platform designed for restaurants. Its integrated system combines point-of-sale software and hardware with payment processing, helping restaurants manage sales, orders, menus, guest interactions and day-to-day operations from a unified platform.

The company offers products and services including online ordering, delivery management, digital ordering and payment tools, restaurant websites, gift cards, loyalty programs, marketing, labor management, payroll, inventory management, reporting and analytics.