Estabrook Capital Management Sells 351 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Estabrook Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,276 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Target were worth $3,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter worth $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in Target by 85.0% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $154.75 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.48 and a 200 day moving average of $154.98. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

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.