Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 120,298 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,098 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $18,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in Target by 156.5% in 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 purchased a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE TGT opened at $130.11 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.92. The stock has a market cap of $59.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.30.

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.