Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Sells 125 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,725 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 6.8% in 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 period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Target by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $458,131,000 after purchasing an additional 272,521 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the 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 $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.9 %

TGT stock opened at $147.97 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.23 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $153.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.53.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business 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 yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

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.