Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Keating Investment Counselors Inc.

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,460 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after buying an additional 417,818 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Target by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Target by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after acquiring an additional 137,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $759,810,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $151.28 on Friday. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $147.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $69.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.