Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price Down 1.1%

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s share price dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $154.16 and last traded at $154.51. Approximately 386,408 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 4,011,762 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.69.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 56.1% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Target by 0.6% in the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in Target by 0.3% in the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.