Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 646 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,910 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 646 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the third quarter valued at $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 8.7% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 20.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,484,000 after acquiring an additional 36,941 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 166.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after acquiring an additional 10,103 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at $107,367,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $153.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $124.88 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.51 and a 200-day moving average of $150.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Target 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.