Private Trust Co. NA Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,874 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Target were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Target by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243,928 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $193,879,000 after buying an additional 41,394 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Target by 20.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,484,000 after buying an additional 36,941 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.63.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $130.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $60.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.31.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, 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 transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.