Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Sells 1,209 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lowered its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 13.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,878 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,209 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Target were worth $1,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 56.1% in the first 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. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Target by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co lifted its position in Target by 0.3% during the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,868,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $152.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.24. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

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 value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.