Private Trust Co. NA Lowers Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,874 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Target were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Target by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Target by 0.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.63.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $130.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $60.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.31. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.