Simmons Bank Sells 70 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Simmons Bank lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,691 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Target by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $153.46 on Friday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $124.88 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $70.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.52.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % 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 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.