Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,862 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Target were worth $5,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 56.1% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Retirement Group LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 85.0% during the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $156.52 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.05. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $72.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.