SouthState Corp Sells 291 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

SouthState Corp reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,755 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 148.6% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $151.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.05. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Truist Financial upped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.68.

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.