Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Stake Decreased by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,910 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth about $559,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 5.9% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Target by 3.6% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 20,828 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,691,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in Target by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 221,929 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,328,000 after purchasing an additional 30,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at $239,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $153.46 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $124.88 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.52. The company has a market cap of $70.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

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.