Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Insider Sells $7,140,150.00 in Stock

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Target Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $1.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.86. 2,654,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,043,923. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Farmers National Bank increased its holdings in Target by 4.0% during the second quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 21,865 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $776,000. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,136,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $866,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.18.

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.