National Bank of Canada FI Decreases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 44.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 321,450 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 261,440 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Target were worth $46,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Target by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,093,000 after buying an additional 12,460 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Target by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,983 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after buying an additional 3,655 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $346,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,063 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Target 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 value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $151.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.68.

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.