Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading 0.8% Higher

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $157.51 and last traded at $157.21. 362,303 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 3,995,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Target Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a PEG 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners bought a new position in Target in the 1st quarter worth approximately $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the period. Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new position in Target during the 1st quarter valued at $125,536,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Target in the 1st quarter worth $107,367,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,765,496 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $312,864,000 after purchasing an additional 544,920 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Target

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.