Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Atlas Capital Advisors LLC

Atlas Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 59.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,459 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,664 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter worth $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in Target by 148.6% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target 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 upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.68.

Target Price Performance

TGT traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $153.62. 3,884,328 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,042,306. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.86. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $71.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.