Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Insider Sells $997,715.16 in Stock

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Target Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of TGT traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $155.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,919,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,004,611. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.39. The stock has a market cap of $72.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

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. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued 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 2.87%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 raised its position in Target by 0.3% during the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

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.