Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price Down 0.5%

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) shares traded down 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $151.45 and last traded at $151.73. 451,604 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 4,020,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Trading Down 0.4 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.06. 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 cap of $69.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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.