Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading Down 0.9%

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) dropped 0.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $154.35 and last traded at $155.11. Approximately 810,174 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 4,006,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

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 company has a 50 day moving average of $148.44 and a 200 day moving average of $155.05. The firm has a market cap of $71.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.