Farmers National Bank Acquires 845 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Farmers National Bank increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,865 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Farmers National Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $3,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Little House Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Target by 23.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $112,686,000 after acquiring an additional 122,706 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 11.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,958,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Target by 864.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 51,639 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Target Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $152.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $70.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.89 and its 200 day moving average is $154.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.