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

Miramar Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 58,969 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 21,225 shares during the quarter. Target accounts for approximately 2.1% of Miramar Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Miramar Capital LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $9,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Target by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after acquiring an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Target by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Target by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,131,000 after buying an additional 272,521 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of TGT opened at $152.16 on Friday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $127.19 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research started coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

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.