Target (NYSE:TGT) Given New $155.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price cut by BMO Capital Markets from $170.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on TGT. Guggenheim upped their target price on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett increased their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $180.41.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $145.23 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $164.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16. Target has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Target will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.38%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after purchasing an additional 417,818 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Target by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after buying an additional 137,180 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after buying an additional 1,415,900 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $759,810,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% 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.