Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Has $1.86 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,532 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Target accounts for 1.8% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 56.1% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Target by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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. raised its holdings in Target by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.68.

Target Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $156.52 on Friday. 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 $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $148.44 and a 200-day moving average of $155.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.