UMB Bank n.a. Sells 2,829 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

UMB Bank n.a. reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,989 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,829 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Target were worth $6,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at about $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 711.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at about $107,367,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 44.6% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,765,496 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $312,864,000 after buying an additional 544,920 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 17.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after buying an additional 470,647 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. 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 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.69.

Target Trading Up 1.1 %

TGT stock opened at $155.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $105.23 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $149.30 and its 200 day moving average is $153.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. 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, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.