Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Target were worth $2,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Target by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Target by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after acquiring an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Target by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $458,131,000 after purchasing an additional 272,521 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $156.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.90. The company has a market cap of $72.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $105.23 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 yield of 2.86%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target 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.