City Holding Co. Reduces Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

City Holding Co. lessened its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,749 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 522 shares during the quarter. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Target by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 248,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,383,000 after buying an additional 56,532 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,653 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Treasury Department increased its stake in shares of Target by 167.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 189,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,043,000 after purchasing an additional 118,964 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 88,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,643,000 after purchasing an additional 6,177 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in Target by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 10,906 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $151.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $70.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.72. Target Co. has a one year low of $103.74 and a one year high of $181.86.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 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.