Target (NYSE:TGT) Shares Down 0% After Insider Selling

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s share price dropped 0% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $152.99 and last traded at $153.59. Approximately 1,004,607 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 4,023,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.62.

Specifically, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.47 and its 200 day moving average is $155.07. The firm has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,401,142,000 after purchasing an additional 417,818 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Target by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after purchasing an additional 137,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $759,810,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Target by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.