Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Sells 484 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,057 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 484 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $6,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 40,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,733,000 after buying an additional 2,219 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Target by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 53,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,653,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in Target by 1,272.5% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 68,788 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after buying an additional 63,776 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Target by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 14,574 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,217,305 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,369,000 after acquiring an additional 171,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $3.28 on Friday, reaching $152.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,557,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,000,033. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. 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 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.08.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 2.93%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related 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 transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.69.

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.