Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 310 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,253 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $152.13 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $127.19 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

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.