Target (NYSE:TGT) Shares Down 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)’s stock price fell 1.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $129.62 and last traded at $129.70. 729,663 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,556,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.57.

Target Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.44 and its 200 day moving average is $146.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $60.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Target by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.