Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $153.74 and last traded at $152.04. Approximately 596,198 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 4,011,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.68.

Target Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $71.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $148.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,093,000 after buying an additional 12,460 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $346,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Target by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 72,574 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 16,276 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,363 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.