Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Carrier Global (NYSE:CARR)

Carrier Global Co. (NYSE:CARR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 11,670 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 87% compared to the average volume of 6,253 put options.

Carrier Global Trading Down 3.7 %

Carrier Global stock opened at $64.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Carrier Global has a 52 week low of $53.13 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $58.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.57.

Carrier Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Carrier Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Carrier Global’s payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

Carrier Global announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, October 24th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CARR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Carrier Global from $83.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Carrier Global from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Carrier Global from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stephens lowered their price target on Carrier Global from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Carrier Global from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carrier Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARR. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Carrier Global by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Carrier Global by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 475,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,786,000 after buying an additional 8,746 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Carrier Global by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 4,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. MFG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Carrier Global during the 4th quarter worth about $3,274,000. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Carrier Global by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.00% of the company’s stock.

Carrier Global Company Profile

Carrier Global Corporation provides heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation technologies in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: HVAC, Refrigeration, and Fire & Security.