Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on ITT (NYSE:ITT)

ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 3,013 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 376% compared to the average volume of 633 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ITT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITT. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of ITT during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ITT by 788.5% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in ITT during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of ITT in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of ITT by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ITT Trading Down 0.5 %

ITT opened at $137.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $133.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.26. ITT has a one year low of $91.94 and a one year high of $149.65. The stock has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.41.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The conglomerate reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.03. ITT had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 12.47%. The company had revenue of $905.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $916.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. ITT’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that ITT will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

ITT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.319 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. ITT’s payout ratio is 24.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ITT shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of ITT from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on ITT from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on ITT from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on ITT from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.00.

About ITT

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.