MWA Asset Management Decreases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

MWA Asset Management cut its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,224 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 458 shares during the quarter. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Target were worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in Target by 1.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Target by 0.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 9.7% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Target Stock Down 0.4 %

TGT opened at $156.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $128.37 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $152.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.32.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% 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.