Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Capital City Trust Co. FL

Capital City Trust Co. FL reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,961 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 560 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL’s holdings in Target were worth $617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Target in the 1st quarter valued at $107,367,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $152.13 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $127.19 and a 52-week high of $181.86. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $152.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.34.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

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.