Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Target (NYSE:TGT)

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 97,780 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 121% compared to the average daily volume of 44,326 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has 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 an average target price of $162.13.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in Target during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $124.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,988,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,312,788. Target has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $151.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

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.