Target (NYSE:TGT) Trading Up 0.2%

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) rose 0.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $148.26 and last traded at $147.61. Approximately 504,764 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 4,016,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $69.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.02.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Target by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% 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.