Amalgamated Bank Decreases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,434 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,268 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $13,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Target during the first quarter worth about $335,870,000. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $125,536,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,367,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Target by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,765,496 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $312,864,000 after buying an additional 544,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Target by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after buying an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $153.57 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

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.