Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Carrier Global Put Options (NYSE:CARR)

Carrier Global Co. (NYSE:CARR) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 11,670 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 87% compared to the typical volume of 6,253 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carrier Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CARR. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Carrier Global by 2.2% during the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Carrier Global by 2.3% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Carrier Global by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 13,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank grew its holdings in Carrier Global by 2.2% in the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 6,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carrier Global by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CARR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Carrier Global in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Carrier Global from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Carrier Global from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Carrier Global in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Carrier Global from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Carrier Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.93.

Carrier Global Stock Performance

NYSE:CARR opened at $64.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.14 and a 200-day moving average of $72.57. Carrier Global has a 1 year low of $53.13 and a 1 year high of $83.32.

Carrier Global announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 24th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Carrier Global Increases Dividend

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

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.