Target (NYSE:TGT) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $108.00 price target on the retailer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $184.00.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $125.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.61. The company has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % 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 over the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 5.6% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,684 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 11,760 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth $326,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Target by 234.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,237 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,072 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 4.8% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 8,140 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.