Target Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:TGT)

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 74,141 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 35% compared to the average daily volume of 54,941 call options.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.30.

Target Trading Up 2.9 %

Target stock traded up $3.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $136.29. 6,931,729 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,528,195. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.59. Target has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.51%.

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.