Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Stake Trimmed by Missouri Trust & Investment Co

Missouri Trust & Investment Co cut its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,575 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in Target were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the third quarter valued at $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 20.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,484,000 after purchasing an additional 36,941 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its position in Target by 166.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 10,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Target in the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,367,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

TGT traded up $2.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $156.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,158,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,914,768. 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’s 50-day moving average is $152.38 and its 200-day moving average is $150.55. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $107.13 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $71.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 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 company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

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.