ADT Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ADT)

ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 3,601 put options on the company. This is an increase of 536% compared to the average daily volume of 566 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ADT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in ADT by 151.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,957 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ADT by 154.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the security and automation business’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,518 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of ADT by 129.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,709 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 4,352 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ADT during the second quarter worth $68,000. Finally, American Trust acquired a new position in ADT during the second quarter worth $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ADT. BTIG Research started coverage on ADT in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ADT in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of ADT from $7.50 to $7.75 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.23.

ADT Price Performance

Shares of ADT stock opened at $7.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. ADT has a 12-month low of $6.24 and a 12-month high of $8.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.28 and a 200-day moving average of $6.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 1.02.

ADT (NYSE:ADT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The security and automation business reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. ADT had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 11.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. ADT has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.910-0.910 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ADT will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

ADT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.055 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. ADT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.99%.

About ADT

ADT Inc (NYSE: ADT) is a provider of security, automation and smart-home solutions for residential and commercial customers. The company offers professionally installed and monitored alarm systems, video surveillance, fire and life-safety products, access-control solutions, and home-automation services.

For residential customers, ADT provides security systems that can integrate alarms, cameras, locks, lighting, thermostats and other connected devices. Its services generally include 24-hour professional monitoring, mobile-app controls, video monitoring and related support.