Farmers Trust Co. Has $332,000 Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,128 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its position in Target by 85.0% in the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

TGT stock opened at $149.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.18. The company has a market cap of $69.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.69.

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.