Target Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.12 (NYSE:TGT)

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 18th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of 1.12 per share by the retailer on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th.

Target has increased its dividend payment by an average of 17.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. Target has a payout ratio of 42.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Target to earn $10.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.4%.

Target Trading Up 1.9 %

TGT opened at $156.52 on Friday. Target has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. 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 business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Target will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.