Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Position Reduced by Avior Wealth Management LLC

Avior Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,316 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Target by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,131,000 after purchasing an additional 272,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,035,326 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $301,310,000 after purchasing an additional 5,586 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. HSBC lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $121.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.92. 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 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 46.28%.

Target 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.