Cetera Trust Company N.A Cuts Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Cetera Trust Company N.A lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,453 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Target were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Target Stock Performance

Target stock traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.29. 998,918 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,944,840. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $105.23 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $152.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.42.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Target Company 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.